Nerlens Noel is making a run at the Rookie of the Year award, according to absolutely unbiased sources in Philly. I’m not buying it.
Not because he isn’t a good player, or because he isn’t one of the best rookies. It’s just that everyone knows that ROY is an award for whoever scores the most points during their rookie season. Other stats don’t count. Defense doesn’t count. Maybe it shouldn’t be that way, but that’s the way it is.
Noel has been getting and converting some better looks now that Ish Smith is the point guard, and he is omnipresent in passing lanes and near the rim. Basically, he’s doing what people expected, perhaps slightly ahead of schedule. His non-dunking offensive game needs a lot of work, which makes it hard to ignore Andrew Wiggins’ scoring this year.
He dominated totally tonight, at least for the first 2.5 quarters, scoring 23 points mainly by dunking, and getting a bunch of steals and blocks. Who says the 76ers are tanking? This guy isn’t.