Well it seems like we have all seen this story before, the 76ers prized acquisition of the summer will be out for the season with a knee injury. Did I mention it was their center again? The only difference, it was more expected this time than it was last season. As it is being reported the 76ers will be holding Nerlens Noel out of game action for the season to focus on his recovery from a torn ACL that he suffered during a game in college last February. Many people originally believed that Noel would return sometime during the mid point of his rookie season but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.
Unlike last year the Sixers knew what they were getting when they traded for Noel during draft night. It was no surprise to anyone, unlike the Bynum injury, that the Sixers were getting damaged goods in the trade. Unlike Bynum, who had a history of knee problems in the past, this is the first major knee injury to Nerlens. Knowing these facts Philly made the calculated risk to invest in Noel's future and hope that he could return to his form prior to the injury.
Like many people I will be upset knowing that our big acquisition will be sitting on the bench all year (again) and will have to wait til the 2014/15 season to see what type of talent he will turn into. With every negative though you need to try to find the positive in the situation and oddly enough I believe there will be a few positives that can come from him missing the year. First and foremost it will give Noel time to put on the extra needed muscle he will need to compete with the big men of the NBA. Anyone who has taken a look at Nerlens knows that he would be moved around pretty easily in the post with his frame. At 6'11, 228 lbs Nerlens isn't the intimidating presence that you want in the center of the lane to defend someone like Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol or Tyson Chandler. Sure he has the height but the body mass isn't there and that is going to be a very important factor in how he plays down low. Secondly, it will give the coaches time to work on his shot and his free throws. In his lone season at Kentucky he was only averaging 10.5 points a night and 52% from the charity stripe, both numbers which should be much higher for a kid with his ability. Everyone saw his defensive game in college, it was always his offensive ability that seemed to be lagging behind. Hopefully with the extra time and practice the coaches can teach him how to work in the post and become more of a scoring threat.
Finally, the team is not going to be good this year so why bring him into a losing culture. Let him watch the games up close and see how different the NBA is from college but don't let him be apart of the blow outs that will happen most nights. Let him grow with the future draft picks we will have and hope that management can build a better team around him next year. It will be good, in my opinion, to give him the year to build up his game and hope that help will be on its way next year, possibly in the form of Andrew Wiggins, with the two lottery picks they will most likely have. Sometimes it is hard to be a Philly fan, but you got to try to make the best of the worst situations.
What do you think? Am I crazy for thinking that the team is making a good call sitting out their big man for the season....again?
Goins
photo:getty images
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