Noel appreciates 'We want Nerlens' chants from 76ers fans
Philadelphia 76ers fans were gung-ho about seeing disgruntled center Nerlens Noel take the floor, and during a blowout loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night, they got their wish.
Chants of "We want Nerlens" echoed throughout the Wells Fargo Center prior to the 22-year-old entering Tuesday's game midway through the third quarter with Philadelphia trailing by 14. As Noel noted afterward, that level of support gave him "the chills real quick."
"I just really want to thank the fans for how they have supported me through thick and thin this whole process, these last four years, period," Noel said, according to CSN Philly's Jessica Camerato. "That meant a lot to me. It’s something I’m very appreciative of."
Noel's playing time was again extremely limited. He accumulated four points and three rebounds in the final 6:49 of the third. This comes on the heels of head coach Brett Brown declaring he'd run with Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor in the starting lineup, leaving Noel out in the cold.
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Brown didn't take the fans' reaction as any sort of slight against him for benching Noel, though.
"I can see why they would do that," Brown said. "He's been with us now for however many years, and they see him come in, Nerlens plays hard. He plays defense. He's appreciated by the city. It didn't surprise me. I was glad they gave him a warm welcome. They should give him a warm welcome. ...
"I thought he did OK. It's very challenging … he and I (were) sending hand signals on the court, him trying to figure out what we're doing. He just hasn't been around. Trying to figure stuff out with the offense and where he should be. But I thought he looked OK. I give him credit."
Noel suited up for just eight minutes against the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday, followed by a DNP-CD against the Brooklyn Nets two nights later. Having his minutes cut to that extent would make anyone rusty, especially considering he didn't play the entire first half Tuesday. Then again, Noel had over 16,000 supporters rooting him on to help him through any potential lull.
"I definitely felt the presence that the fans had once I entered the game," he added. "They just got me going, especially knocked off all those little nerves of just sitting most of the game. I was able to go in there and do my thing. Like I said, I just love the fans."