Nerlens Noel has more he would like to accomplish by the end of this season. The hangup is he has missed the last four games with a right knee contusion and is expected to be sidelined for Friday’s contest, too.
“I definitely want to get back on the court, definitely before the season ends and be able to give it another run,” Noel said Tuesday, when the Sixers suffered a 100-85 loss to the Hornets (see game recap). “But obviously being smart, coming back healthy and making sure I’m in a good place when I come back.”
Noel is in wait-and-see mode while the injury recovers. He has been focusing on resting his knee to let the bone bruise heal, noting that staying off his knee will help more than being on the court right now. Noel missed two games earlier this month with a bruised right knee.
“I’m making progress,” Noel said. “I’ve been getting treatment around the clock. I’m starting to feel a little better. I’m looking forward to this weekend so I can see what I’m able to do.”
This season, Noel is averaging 11.1 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He has improved his field goal shooting from 46.2 percent to 52.4 percent, second-highest on the team.
Noel had played out of position at power forward for the first half of the season while Jahlil Okafor played center. Brett Brown decided to move Noel back to the five-spot after the All-Star break, and he had been averaging 12.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.1 blocks in March.
The Sixers already lost one big for the season when Okafor underwent surgery to repair a meniscus tear. Noel would like to suit up again before the regular season wraps on April 13.
NBA
"[I want] just to be able to go out with some momentum into the offseason, knowing what I need to work on," he said. "Just being able to establish myself as a second- and third-year player in this league, and making it be known that I’m a player that will continue to get better and better throughout my early years in this league."