The addition of Nerlens Noel to the Dallas Mavericks has given them a young big man, who can be part of their future plans. Rick Carlisle has been pleased with the development he's seeing from him, especially in his performance on Tuesday night.
Despite just recovering from knee soreness and getting blown out by the Golden State Warriors on the night, the 22-year-old Kentucky product was one of the team's bright spots. The 57-year-old head coach praised his solid game, via Dwain Price of the Star-Telegram, but also reasoned out why he wasn't given additional playing time.
“[Noel] did a lot of good things [Tuesday] night, but I’m not going to play a guy coming off a sore knee meaningless minutes in a blowout. So if you’re asking for garbage minutes, that ain’t gonna happen.
“The knee is doing extremely well, but why put a guy out there in a 25-point blowout in the last six minutes? That makes no sense.”
However, when asked what else Noel can improve on, Carlisle was honest to admit that he needs to pack a few more pounds to make him even stronger.
“There’s a lot of upside. I think when you think from the standpoint of his physical makeup, he can get stronger certainly.”
“He is stronger than you would think looking at him. He has wiry strength, on weight-lifting tests and things like that, his legs are strong even though he’s a slender guy. I think he can put on a little more weight as time goes on.”
Should he succeed in adding more weight to his frame, he could turn out to be one of best big men in the league given his skill set and defensive acumen. Not only will he benefit from it, but his team as well, who are looking to return to their winning ways and contend for a title once again in the next few years.
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