re: NBA Daily Thread 3/12: Kyrie went nuclear (57 points)

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Not only does Noel lead all rookies in rebounds, blocks, and steals, he’s also the only NBA player in the top 10 in both blocks (eighth) and steals (10th). That’s not, you know, normal.

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Since the All-Star break, Noel has averaged 11.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 2.8 blocks, and 2.8 steals a night. He rejected nine shots in a game against the Pacers last month. In the Sixers’ recent upset of the Hawks, he amassed 11 points, 17 rebounds, and five steals. (He has an absurd total of 19 acts of thievery in his last four games.)

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Basically, he’s a 6-foot-11, 228-pound cable of razor wire that stretches from the rim to the 3-point line, with a 7-foot-4 wingspan and tightly coiled springiness. He ends up at locations and altitudes far more rapidly than opponents expect. On a single possession, he might poke the rock away from a point guard, swipe at the dribble of a big man posting up, and then bound across the paint to alter a shot as the weakside helper. According to Brown, Noel’s exceptional attributes include ambidextrous shot-blocking, an uncanny sense of timing, and a pogo-stick second jump. Plus, with the NBA’s emphasis on pick-and-rolls, the ability for a center to switch onto point guards is critical when assembling an effective modern defense.

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He’s not rising with bland, Hibbert-ian verticality. The Eraser is coming to punch your shite.

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Advanced metrics support the eye test. Noel’s Defensive Box Plus/Minus ranking is second in the NBA, his Defensive Rating is eighth, and, according to SportVU player tracking, opponents shoot only 45 percent at the basket against him, which places him in elite rim-protector territory. The Sixers surrender 99.5 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor — which is slightly better than the Rockets and Blazers, the third- and fourth-best defenses in the league.

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