Nerlens Noel attempted and made his first in-game three-pointer since high school Monday against the Wizards. What may have seemed like a trey on a whim was actually the result of dedicated practice.
“I’m definitely working on my game to expand it,” Noel said after the game. “I always shoot threes whenever I’m working out, [in] layup lines … I work on them whenever I’m really shooting at all.”
Noel’s natural position is center. This season, he made the adjustment to play power forward as a result of a frontcourt logjam with fellow center Jahlil Okafor. All the while, he has been working on a long-range game.
Noel said he began focusing on playing away from the rim when he entered the league. He honed in on his floater and wanted “more of a touch around the basket.” The style of play in the NBA has shifted, and Noel wants to get a jumpstart adapting early in his career.
“It’s really becoming a small-ball game,” he said. “Even if I see myself as a prototypical center — being able to catch lobs, roll, set screens, block shots — expanding your game to hit that three, when it starts to come along the lines of bigger guys, [they will] have to respect it. I think with my athleticism, I’ll be able to go right by them and make things happen.”
The basket seemed unlikely based on his numbers this season. Noel has made 235 field goals at a 53.7 percent clip. Of those, he is shooting 177 for 245 (72.2 percent) at the rim. From three to just under 10 feet, he's shooting 31 percent (31 for 100). From 10 to just under 16 feet, he's shooting 33.3 percent (14 for 42). From 16 feet to the arc, he's shooting 24 percent (12 for 50). And now he's 1 for 1 from three-point range.
In fact, when Nik Stauskas got the ball to Noel at the top of the arc, he didn’t expect the big man to attempt a trey. The 25-foot bucket cut the Sixers' deficit to three during a third-quarter run.
“There were four seconds left [in the shot clock] and I was maybe six feet behind the line,” Stauskas said. “I was kind of losing control of the ball, so I thought, give it to him. Maybe he’ll drive, maybe he’ll do something with it. … I didn’t know at first he was going to pull up for three because there was enough time for him to get to the basket. He seemed like he was pretty confident in it, so that’s all that matters.”
The following Day, Noel tweeted:
One player who is eager for Noel to expand his shot selection is Ish Smith. The point guard has been connecting with Noel for lobs and would look forward to getting him the ball for three.
“I think it’s better off the dribble than people give him credit for,” Smith said. “He’s got an amazing quick step. … So when he starts stepping out like that and making threes — he’s already knocking down 15-footers — ooh, he starts making that and it’s going to be trouble.”
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Noel said he is critiquing his game, including his offense, with less than two months left in the regular season. Over the summer, one of his focuses will be on his shooting mechanisms.
“I want to continue to expand my game from 15 feet,” Noel said. “Maybe eventually in my career, I’ll be able to shoot that at a steady pace.”