The Philadelphia 76ers were need of some big men depth. They were already down Kyle O’Quinn due to an injury and due to being on a back-to-back, they decided to rest Al Horford for the night.
So, they called on 26-year old two-way rookie Norvel Pelle to make his NBA debut on one of the biggest stages in basketball. Pelle entered to a big crowd at Madison Square Garden and he did not back down. He was posterized by Knicks forward Julius Randle to begin, but that did not deter him and he bounced back to block four shots and provide some real rim protection off the bench.
Coach Brett Brown was happy with Pelle as he stated:
I thought Norvel came in and just gave us a bounce. I thought his presence at the rim was excellent, we’ve seen it with the G League team before and I thought he was excellent.
Pelle was averaging 14.3 points and 10 rebounds with the team’s G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, and he provided some good play that the team needed.
He impressed Tobias Harris who added:
To come right up from the G League and be able to make an impact today in the game, I thought he did a great job of just contesting shots, making the game a bit scrappy just by imposing his will out there. So I thought his energy was great for us.
With Horford returning on Saturday, there might not be another big opportunity for Pelle, but in the chance that Joel Embiid might sit due to it being the second half of a back-to-back, there could be some more chances for him to make even more of an impact.
The Sixers return home on Saturday to face the Indiana Pacers. [lawrence-related id=20263,20254,20244]