Despite Strong Season, Nerlens Noel Left Off NBA All-Defensive Teams
By Ray Boyd
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Nerlens Noel received his recognition among NBA rookies as he was named to the All-Rookie First Team, but the voters were not ready to recognize him among the league's premiere defenders just yet.
On Wednesday, the NBA announced the First and Second teams for All-Defense. Noel received just five total votes among the 129 member voting panel, and just one first team vote.
It may be an overstatement to characterize Noel's absence as a snub, but the number of votes doesn't seem to add up when you consider the impact Noel clearly had on the defensive end.
The players that did make the teams are as follows: First Team: Kawhi Leonard, Draymond Green, Tony Allen, DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul Second Team: Anthony Davis, Jimmy Butler, Andrew Bogut, John Wall and Tim Duncan
All of those players had significant defensive impacts on their teams, but Noel had just as much if not more of an impact as every name on that list.
Noel was 10th in the NBA in steals per game. As a big man, the only steals you typically get are on deflected passes into the paint that you manage to break up. Noel has some of those, but also managed to pick the pockets of players much smaller than him out on the perimeter and ignite the break.
Very few centers have the quickness and athleticism to steal a ball from a point guard. Noel does that regularly. Look at the names on that list ahead of Noel. The overwhelming majority are guards and wing players.
Noel was also top seven in the NBA in blocks per game at 1.9. He actually finished ahead of Bogut in that category and just a notch below Duncan who averaged a solid 2.0.
Noel finished 8th in the NBA in defensive rating which measures the amount of points a player allows per 100 possessions. Everyone ahead of Noel on that list made a defensive team with the exception of Rudy Gobert.
Noel also finished 11th in defensive win shares ahead of Davis.
He was also 4th in the league in defensive box plus/minus which is a stat which measures a players impact according to a box score for 100 possessions. For example, 0.0 is the average for the league and +5 would mean a player is five points better than an average player per 100 possessions.
The only players that ranked higher than Noel (4.5) in this stat were Bogut (5.5), Gobert (5.1) and Duncan (4.7). Davis was named second team with a 3.0 and Jordan was first team with a 3.2.
As mentioned earlier, this may not have been a snub. Exposure and name recognition play a major role in voting for these type of awards. However, five total votes and just one first team vote does not equate considering the numbers.
The only statistical category where Noel could have been in better standing was rebounding where he only averaged 8.1 which was outside the top 20. That skill will only get better as Noel's body matures and he adds on the weight necessary to battle in the post with heavier players.
Noel's greatest impact is on defense and eventually he is going to get rewarded for everything he does on the end of the floor.
