For Dallas Mavericks center Nerlens Noel, his 2017-18 season started off with a bang and rapidly went downhill after that. However, Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle is eager to get Noel back on the court as soon as next week.
According to an article written by longtime Mavs writer Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News, coach Carlisle plans to play Noel after the All-Star Break.
“I do think he's going to be back after the break and I'm looking forward to getting him out there,” Carlisle said. “It's an opportunity for us as we move along here to look at potential young groups that could be playing together into the future to see the viability, the chemistry, those kinds of things.”
Noel has not seen any action since late November and had surgery on a torn thumb ligament in early December, but said he expects the 23-year-old center to return to practice and game action next week when the Mavs travel to take on the Los Angeles Lakers on Feb. 23 at Staples Center.
“The beginning of the year this year was difficult for everybody because of the schedule. And some of his struggles turned out to probably be related to the thumb that had a ligament tear, probably from day one,” Carlisle said of Noel. “So we want to get him healthy, get him back and try to get him a good 20 or so games, if we can.”
Noel put together a very strong double-double effort in the Mavs' season opener against the Atlanta Hawks with 16 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting, 11 rebounds, and three blocked shots in just 20 minutes. However, in 18 games this season he 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.
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