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ANALYSIS: Once, there was a thing called "The Process," and the Sixers trading Jrue Holiday for Nerlens Noel helped kickstart that. But while things have turned around in Philadelphia, Noel is long gone from that team, and after a year and a half in Dallas, Noel signed a one-year deal with the Thunder this offseason.
Noel is definitely not putting up consistently strong numbers for the Thunder, but he's given them the occasional push to help them win games.
Noel put up 14 points and seven rebounds to help beat the Hawks on November 30th, and then followed that game up with a 12-point, eight-rebound effort in the team's next game, a win over the Detroit Pistons. He had nine rebounds against the Nets in the game after that.
Noel's fantasy usefulness is situational, and owners have to understand that he'll be ineffective at times on a team that has a lot of strong, perimeter-oriented players. But Noel is still a good rebounder and an efficient scorer who is hitting 61.8 percent of his shots this season. If you're in need of a big man who won't hurt your percentages and is shooting 75 percent from the free throw line, there are worse places to look than Oklahoma City. Noel's upside is likely to be pretty capped with Steven Adams ahead of him in the pecking order, but he's doing his best in the minutes he's given and can provide some good shooting numbers and rebounds for fantasy owners.
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