During a presser with the media on Tuesday afternoon, Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle stated that opening night starting center Nerlens Noel will be active on Wednesday night when the Mavs host the Oklahoma City Thunder.
According to a video posted on Twitter by Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News, coach Carlisle said that Noel will put on a Mavs game jersey for the first time since late November.
“Nerlens is doing well and he will be available to play tomorrow as far as I know, unless there's some surprise tomorrow morning. Which I don't expect,” Carlisle said.
Although Carlisle did not go as far to say that Noel will be guaranteed a certain amount of minutes, it's at least refreshing news for Mavs fans as the 2017-18 season continues to go south.
With the Mavericks (19-42) near the bottom of the Western Conference standings, the team's veterans are starting to see less minutes in favor of the younger guys. It's entirely possible Noel could begin seeing a significant amount of minutes, which was the case during October.
In a season that has limited Noel to just 18 games due to surgery for a torn thumb ligament, the 23-year-old center is averaging just 4.0 points on 52.8 percent shooting from the field and 4.1 rebounds per game in only 12.5 minutes of action per contest. However, he did have a very strong double-double effort in the Mavs’ season-opener back in October against the Atlanta Hawks with 16 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting, 11 rebounds, and three blocked shots in just 20 minutes of action.
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