The Philadelphia 76ers think they have a pretty good frontcourt combination in Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor as one (Okafor) is more of an offensive guy and the other (Noel) is a defensive guy. The Sixers also think that they can work well together on offense despite the fact that both prefer to do their work closer to the basket. The biggest factor in Philadelphia's optimism in that combination offensively is the fact that Noel has worked very hard on his jump shot and he will have the green light from mid-range this season, according to John Finger of CSN Philly.
Noel came into the NBA with a reputation as a defensive player that could be a top notch rim protector in the league and he didn't disappoint in that regard as a rookie last season. Noel averaged 1.9 blocks and 1.8 steals per game while also adding 4.2 defensive win shares which are very good numbers, especially for a rookie.
On offense though, the 76ers knew they were getting an extremely raw player that needed a lot of work and he showed that in his first season. Noel only made 46 percent of his field goals and almost 80 percent of his attempts came from inside 10 feet. Noel's touch around the rim needs improvement as does his jump shot but head coach Brett Brown believes he has improved it enough to the point where he is going to give him the green light.
"He's spent a lot of time trying to develop that pick-and-pop, 18-foot jump-shot game, 20-foot jump-shot game. We are going to give him the freedom to shoot that shot, also," said Brown.
Last season Noel took 136 shots from farther than 10 feet and he only made 40 of them which is only 29 percent. Noel used this offseason to put in a lot of work on his jump shot and he has shown improvement thus far this offseason. Noel also believes that playing alongside Okafor will open up more space for him to get wide open shots which should also help increase that percentage.
Despite the fact that his offensive game clearly needed improvement Noel still had a fine rookie season. He averaged 9.9 points and 8.1 rebounds to go along with the great defense so if he can show some growth on offense the 21 year old has a chance to become a great all-around player and the 76ers might just be able to boast one of the best young frontcourts in the league.
