One of the ongoing questions of this season is how well Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor can play together. Both are natural centers, but Noel is playing out of position at power forward given his defensive and athletic abilities. The pairing isn’t a perfect fit. It has its challenges.
In Saturday’s 114-89 win over the Trail Blazers, though, Sixers head coach Brett Brown was pleased by what he saw from the two bigs on the court.
“I think Nerlens and Jahlil tonight coexisted perhaps the best they have,” he said. “In that duration when they were there on the floor, it was good. Nerlens with four blocks and four steals and Jahlil at the start of the game just getting us going and starting well. He had an easy 25 and 10.”
Noel and Okafor played 14 minutes together against the Trail Blazers. While in the game with Okafor, Noel was plus-14 with six rebounds, one block and zero points. With Okafor on the bench, Noel was plus-9 with four points, two rebounds, four steals and three blocks in 12 minutes.
Okafor was plus-14 with 12 points, four rebounds and one assist on the court with Noel. He was plus-8 in 15 minutes with Noel on the bench, for 13 points and six rebounds. Okafor finished the night with a double-double.
“I think the big thing was on the defensive end,” Noel said. “I thought we had each other’s backs and we were communicating a lot better. I thought we did a better job defensively and Jahlil really busted his butt to make that work on the defensive end. Offensively, he just worked.”
As the one running the floor, point guard Ish Smith has a unique viewpoint of how the two worked together. He has seen improvements in the tandem since joining the team in late December, and believes it will continue with time.
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“Once we get a rebound … (Nerlens) does such a great job of running the floor and we just have that connection. With Jah, when he runs the floor, we try to get him to deep post up and just throw him the ball. Tonight we did that,” Smith said.
“Defensively, Nerlens was unbelievable. He controlled the game on the defensive end and Jah did such a great job on the offensive end. It was a great one-two punch. I really thought they were the difference makers.”
The question of how to best utilize the two bigs isn't going get resolved after one game. But in the win, they made it work.
“I just felt the whole team had a good rhythm,” Okafor said. "Nerlens and I, we benefited from that. It was a really fun game to be a part of."