I have no statistical evidence, but I watched about 15 sixers games last year and in my opinion he's not an elite defender. He's roughly on par with Amir Johnson, just with more theatrics and more mistakes. A guy like DeAndre Jordan warps the entire court. You never get that sense with Noel. He can be moved out of a play by a SF. Not elite.
There's layers there to pull through. Did you happen to catch games he was playing out of position? We're talking about a 10 win team that was intentionally trying to lose games. They didn't really have NBA players on that roster for the most part. FWIW, he had by far the highest defensive rating on the team. He also put up far better stats as the starting Center than he did as a PF. We also saw him make a leap when Ish Smith returned - so maybe he'd succeed with decent players surrounding him.
The kid could probably flourish on this team.
The games were evenly distributed, more or less. They improved from a D-league team to simply the worst team with Ish. The effort was surprisingly good throughout. Credit to coach Brown. I don't think it matters if he was playing 4 or 5, tbh.
My problem with Noel is that his game is defined by highlight reel blocks and alley-oops. He plays with a sort of anticipation of the next highlight. For every weak side shot block, he gives up an offensive rebound. For every steal, he turns the ball over twice. He grabs a nice rebound in traffic and you'd like him to make a quick outlet pass, but he palms the ball instead, celebrating his rebound. It's like he's playing his own game. Basically the opposite of Smart.
He'd probably look significantly better on a real basketball team.
I don't see why that would be true. e.g. the Spurs don't select players like Noel and mold them into good players. They draft intelligent, team-oriented players. You'll never see Noel on the Spurs, I guarantee that.
Maybe the problem with Noel is expectations. People think he can be an elite center some day because he was a top pick. That just isn't true. He should focus on being the best Tyson Chandler he can be.
Tyson Chandler was the #2 pick in his draft.
And he had a nice career as a role player. He wasn't Hakeem Olajuwon. That's my point. Noel's ceiling is in the Tyson Chandler range, not the Hakeem range.
Who said he had Hakeem potential? I think it's well known Tyson Chandler is the comp.
The question, then, becomes whether or not you think Tony Allen or Tyson Chandler makes more of an impact on a team. Tony's a great defender, but he has only so much impact on the game. Tyson Chandler was a DPOY and helped a team win a championship. As others have said, if you're choosing between two defense-only players, you go with the big.
That said, I still truly hope Marcus Smart makes a leap next season and surpasses what looks like a Tony Allen ceiling right now.
I think Smart is more Joe Dumars than Tony Allen, and I don't think Noel ever reaches that Tyson Chandler ceiling. It's too simple to say they're both defensive players. Smart shows the best defensive fundamentals and instincts I've seen in 35 years. Noel is behind the curve.
Smart is also demonstrating historically bad offensive production. He rarely shows flashes of ability to make that leap, as well. His shot looked better in the playoffs -- small sample size -- but he hasn't even shown flashes of being able to penetrate, making plays for himself or others. That's the staple of our offense -- create driving lanes for IT, via PnR and spacing, and attack the gaps. AB has even shown improvement within this system.
Defensively, he is benefiting from perhaps the best on-the-job training in the world -- excellent coaching on a [dang] good defensive-oriented team. Noel has accomplished what he has in Philly's well-documented dumpster fire.
What did Noel accomplish exactly? 12 wins and 45% shooting?
Smart is not a slasher. He doesn't have a great first step. He's learning to take advantage of his physicality. His instincts and competitiveness will make him great. 1 or 2 more years. Mark my words.
Yes, good points -- Noel couldn't lead one of the worst teams in NBA history (and purposely trying to lose) to more than 12 wins on his rookie contract. And 45% from the field supports my statement above that he "projects to suck offensively." Not sure where you were headed with those two points -- they seem to have substantiated mine.
Correct, Smart is not a slasher -- substantiating another point above. But do you not see why that's an issue? His shooting is so dreadful, and arguably regressing, that he has given us no reason for optimism on the offensive end. If he can't slash, he can't excel at PG; If he can't shoot, he can't excel at SG (offensively). I hope you're right, but I'll be shocked at the same time.
So your argument rests on your personal belief that Smart will develop into a solid offensive player -- "great," even. I'm not sold on that. So if not, again, I'd rather have a mobile defensive specialist that is 6'11" versus one that is 6'4". Call me crazy.