Nerlens Noel Injury: Updates on 76ers Star's Ankle and Return
Philadelphia 76ers forward Nerlens Noel exited last Wednesday's game against the Orlando Magic with a sprained ankle.
Continue for updates.
Sunday, Nov. 9
Noel to Miss 2nd Game
Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Enquirer confirms Noel will not play tonight and that he will be replaced in the lineup by Henry Sims.
Thursday, Nov. 6
Noel in Doubt for Friday
Nerlens Noel's status for Friday's game against the Chicago Bulls is in doubt according to Tom Moore of buckscountycouriertimes.com:
Wednesday, Nov. 5
Noel Exits Game After Suffering Ankle Injury
The 76ers announced detail at the time of the injury:
Noel, 20, missed all of last season while recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in college. Though he likely would have been able to play toward the end of the season, the Sixers held Noel out as a precaution.
The Sixers, as part of perhaps the most radical rebuilding plan in NBA history, also moved Noel to power forward for his rookie campaign. A center in high school and at Kentucky, Philly's selection of Joel Embiid forced Noel to learn a new position on the fly as he was recovering.
Listed at 6'11" and 228 pounds, Noel has a 7'4" wingspan and could give the Sixers basketball's longest frontcourt if he can make the position switch. His athleticism and defensive intelligence made him a shot-blocking maven in Lexington. The only questions on that end were whether he could transition strength-wise and get his foul-proneness under control.
Offensively he remains a big-time work in progress, especially in today's three-happy culture. Noel did not have much of an offensive game to speak of during college; his role was essentially to dunk the ball, pick up offensive rebounds and crash hard on pick-and-rolls.
Of course, any long-term injury derails that development entirely. The Sixers aren't much concerned with winning games this season, so the on-court value of Noel's absence will be negligible. He'll most likely be replaced by Luc Mbah a Moute if he's out of the lineup long term, which will generally have the effect of an oversize power forward becoming an undersize one.
The more concerning implication here is if Noel is seriously hurt. This was supposed to be a major developmental season and any sort of injury could hamper those expectations.
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