Tag: Nerlens Noel

Noel’s strategy against LaMarcus Aldridge is ‘just to bother him’

In three games against Oklahoma City this season, Aldridge is averaging 28.7 points and 10.7 rebounds while shooting 62.5% from the field.

Oklahoma City has had a difficult time stopping LaMarcus Aldridge this season.

In the three previous games against OKC this year, Alridge is averaging 28.7 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.

He scored 39 in the first meeting back on Nov. 7, and 22 on Jan. 2.

Alridge posted another double-double in San Antonio’s win over the Thunder back on Feb. 11, scoring 25 points and grabbing 14 rebounds in the 114-106 victory.

In that game, both Steven Adams and Nerlens Noel drew Aldridge as a defensive assignment. Adams played 32 minutes, scoring 10 points but racking up five fouls. Noel wasn’t a ton of help in relief, limited to just eight minutes while picking up four personals.

But this time around, Noel has a different game plan.

He told Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman that his strategy for guarding Aldridge on Sunday is “just to bother him.”

“There’s some exceptional post players in the league and he’s one of them. He always makes tough shots, but you know, I have a different mindset than last game. You know, just want to bother him in certain different ways. Switch it up. You know, there are guys that are able to wrap your arms up and all that little silly stuff. So, you know, I’ve got to be mindful of that, keep the fouls low and not put anybody on the free-throw line as much as I have been. So, it’s little things that will make a difference.”

Despite the team-high 25 in the last game, Alridge’s shooting percentage wasn’t great. He made just 9-of-30 from the floor but did go to the free-throw line eight times, where he made seven of his attempts.

The Thunder and Spurs will tip-off inside Chesapeake Energy Arena at 6 p.m. CT on Sunday evening in their final matchup of the regular season.

Danilo Gallinari out vs. Timberwolves with sore left thumb

For the second week in a row, Danilo Gallinari will not play in the second game of a back-to-back. He’s out Saturday with a sore left thumb.

Go ahead and add Danilo Gallinari to the list of players who won’t be in action when the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night.

According to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, Gallo will miss OKC’s game against the Wolves with left thumb soreness.

It’s the second week in a row that Gallinari has not played in the second game of a back-to-back. He sat out Oklahoma City’s win over the Trail Blazers on Jan. 18 to rest.

Gallo has played a significant part in Oklahoma City’s offense this season. Since coming over from the Clippers as part of the trade for Paul George, Gallinari is second on the team in scoring, averaging 19.1 points per game.

He led the team with 25 points in Friday night’s 140-111 win over the Atlanta Hawks, going 7-of-10 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.

In the final year of his contract, Gallinari has been continuously mentioned as a potential target for multiple teams prior to the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

The Thunder will also be without center Nerlens Noel, though his absence will likely stretch beyond Saturday night.

The team announced on Saturday morning that Noel had undergone successful surgery to repair a fractured cheek and that his status would be re-evaluated next week.

Per Mussatto’s tweet, Terrance Ferguson and Abdel Nader will also be sidelined on Saturday.

Steven Adams is questionable with a left ankle sprain.

Tip-off in Minnesota between the Thunder and the Timberwolves is at 7 p.m. CT.

Nerlens Noel out Saturday after successful surgery on fractured cheek

Per the Thunder, Noel’s status will be re-evaluated next week. In 38 games, Noel is leading the team in shooting percentage at 67.6%.

Nerlens Noel has been ruled out of Saturday’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Thunder announced that Noel underwent a “successful procedure to repair a fracture of the zygomatic arch of his left cheek” and that his status will be re-evaluated next week.

Noel sustained the injury when he took an accidental shot from teammate Danilo Gallinari during Friday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks. He did finish with 10 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes of game time.

As noted by Erik Horne of The Oklahoman, it’s the same injury that Russell Westbrook had in 2015.

Noel has struggled with injuries as of late.

He missed six straight games with a sprained left ankle after he injured it during the third quarter of Oklahoma City’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 4. Noel made his return in OKC’s loss to the Lakers on Jan. 17, and both games of the back-to-back, scoring 15 points in 19 minutes against the Trail Blazers.

When he’s been healthy, Noel has been incredibly efficient.

He’s leading the team in shooting percentage at 67.6%, averaging 8.2 points in 38 games with six starts.

Due to recent injuries to Steven Adams, Noel has played a more pivotal role inside for Oklahoma City in the last week.

In Wednesday’ win over the Orlando Magic, Noel went 7-of-10 from the floor, with six of his seven makes being dunks.

Without Adams and Noel on Friday, Mike Muscala came off the bench to score 14 points in 20 minutes, hitting 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. It’s the first time in his career that Muscala has made four or more 3-pointers in consecutive games.

With Steven Adams questionable to return, the Thunder could be lacking in size on Saturday night when they square off against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The last time the two played, the Wolves were without Karl-Anthony Towns.

Back in the starting lineup, Towns scored 30 points in 28 minutes in a loss to Houston on Friday night. The Timberwolves have lost eight straight coming in Saturday’s game against Oklahoma City.

Nerlens Noel dunking all over opponents this season

With his six against the Magic, Noel has already thrown down 71 dunks this year. He’s shooting a career-best 67% from the floor this season.

Watching Nerlens Noel on Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic, it would be hard to believe that the Thunder center had missed seven of the last nine games with a left ankle sprain and corresponding soreness.

Noel returned to the starting lineup against the Magic, playing 30 minutes of game time, logging 14 points and seven rebounds. He was one of six Thunder players in double-digits.

On Wednesday, Noel made seven of his 10 attempts from the field. Six of those were emphatic dunks.

He’s shooting a career-best 67% from the floor this season and has seen his point production rise to 8.1 per game from 4.8 a year ago.

Noel told Maddie Lee of the Oklahoman that as long as his teammates can get it around the rim, he’s going to put it down.

“I just keep telling them,” Noel said recently of his alley-oop chemistry with his point guards, “Throw the ball up. I’m going to go get it.’”

As noted by Joe Mussatto, through 37 games this season, Noel already has 71 dunks. He had 76 dunks in 77 games last year.

The drastic increase can be partially attributed to playing alongside four-time assists leader, Chris Paul.

“You saw what C threw me,” Noel told The Oklahoman Saturday, after another alley-oop-filled performance. “He’s the only one who’s going to throw it that high with that confidence.”

Noel has confidence in his teammates to throw it up, and they’ve got confidence in him to be able to throw it down.

So far this season, it’s proved to be a winning combination in Oklahoma City.

Dennis Schroder’s big second half leads OKC past Magic

Schroder scored 20 of his game-high 31 in the second half as the Thunder held off Orlando to move to a season-high seven games over .500.

Dennis Schroder scored 20 points in the second half as Oklahoma City held off the Orlando Magic 120-114 on Wednesday night.

The Thunder have now won four in a row on the road and are a season-high seven games over .500.

It took a balanced scoring attack to take down the Magic.

Six players were in double-digits for the Thunder, led by Schroder who tied his season-high with a game-high 31. Schroder was efficient in 33 minutes, going 13-of-18 from the field, including hitting three of his four attempts from beyond the arc. He also dished out nine assists.

As a team, Oklahoma City shot 60.5% from the field and 47.4% beyond the arc.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 18 as part of a double-double to go along with 12 rebounds.

Chris Paul, Nerlens Noel, Mike Muscala and Danilo Gallinari were all also in double figures.

In his return to the lineup, Noel played 30 minutes of game time, scoring 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting while pulling down seven rebounds. Noel was in the starting lineup against the Magic due to the absence of Steven Adams, who missed Wednesday’s game due to a left ankle sprain.

While the Thunder have been the best team in the clutch this year, they almost let one get away from them against Orlando.

After taking a nine-point lead in the half, the Magic outscored OKC 38-32 in the third quarter to cut the deficit to three headed into the fourth.

Though the Thunder opened the final frame on a 10-2 run, a 3-pointer by Aaron Gordon with 4:58 remaining capped a 15-5 run by Orlando to get it to 107-106.

But the Magic couldn’t quite overtake OKC.

With the win, Oklahoma City improves to 26-19 and 12-10 on the road. The Thunder return home to host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

Nerlens Noel returns to starting lineup, Steven Adams out vs. Orlando

Noel returns after missing two games with left ankle soreness while Adams was downgraded to out an hour prior to tip-off against the Magic.

Oklahoma City will at least have one big man back on Wednesday against the Orlando Magic.

Nerlens Noel, who had been listed as questionable, was upgraded to available about 90 minutes prior to tip-off.

Steven McGehee of KWTV Sports tweeted the update.

Noel had missed Monday’s win over the Rockets with left ankle soreness.

He missed six games with a left ankle sprain before returning Jan. 17 against the Lakers. He also played the second game of the back-to-back, logging 19 minutes in Oklahoma City’s win over the Trail Blazers on Saturday, scoring 15 points.

Noel originally injured his left ankle when he stepped on Tristan Thompson’s foot during the third quarter of the Thunder’s win over Cleveland on Jan. 4.

Noel returned to the starting lineup for Oklahoma City because Steven Adams will not play.

McGehee tweeted out Adams’ status just an hour before tip-off.

Adams is out with a left ankle sprain. He sustained the injury in the first quarter of Monday’s game against Houston when he was undercut by Clint Capela while trying to rebound.

Prior to injuring his ankle, Adams had missed time with a right knee contusion that he suffered in the first half of OKC’s loss to the Raptors on Jan. 15.

Steven Adams, Nerlens Noel questionable vs. Magic

Both Steven Adams and Nerlens Noel are dealing with left ankle issues and are questionable to play Wednesday night against the Magic.

It would be a big boost for the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night against the Magic. More specifically, a big men boost.

According to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, both Steven Adams and Nerlens Noel are questionable for the Thunder’s game in Orlando.

Both have been dealing with left ankle issues.

Adams is still dealing with the left ankle sprain that he suffered during the first quarter of OKC’s win over the Rockets.

Having just recently returned from a right knee contusion, Adams played all of two minutes Monday. He left the game after being undercut by Clint Capela while attempting to rebound a missed three-pointer by Danilo Gallinari. Capela was called for a flagrant foul, but Adams had to leave the game. He did not return.

Noel was unavailable for Oklahoma City in place of Adams on Monday as he was out with left ankle soreness.

He missed six games with a left ankle sprain before returning on Friday against the Miami Heat. He also played 19 minutes on Saturday against the Trail Blazers and scored 15 points.

The initial injury occurred during the third quarter of OKC’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 4.

Tip-off between the Thunder and the Magic in Orlando is at 6 p.m. CT.

Slow start dooms Thunder in loss to Miami

Oklahoma City trailed the Heat 105-83 with 8 minutes to play. They cut the deficit to seven on a Chris Paul 3, but couldn’t get any closer.

Once again the Thunder found themselves down double-digits late in the game before making a push. And once again, like it was on Wednesday against the Raptors, it was too little too late.

Miami led 61-47 at the half and withstood a fourth-quarter rally from Oklahoma City to top the Thunder 115-108.

The Heat built their lead to 105-83 with eight minutes to play, but OKC refused to go away without a fight, cutting the deficit to seven on a Chris Paul 3 with just over two minutes remaining in the game.

They couldn’t get any closer.

Danilo Gallinari led the Thunder with 27 while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Dennis Schroder had 18 each.

Nerlens Noel returned to the lineup after missing six games with an ankle sprain to score 10 points and grab six rebounds in 21 minutes after starting in place of the injured Steven Adams.

Chris Paul and Hamidou Diallo were both in double-figures as well on Friday night, scoring 14 and 11, respectively.

With the loss, Oklahoma City has now lost three of four and have one more game at home on Saturday against the Trail Blazers before heading out on the road.

Tip-off against Portland on Saturday is set for 8 p.m. CT.

Steven Adams, Nerlens Noel to be re-evaluated on Friday

Noel has missed six games with a left ankle sprain while Adams suffered a right knee contusion in OKC’s loss to Toronto on Wednesday.

Oklahoma City is hoping to have a bolstered middle when they host the Miami Heat on Friday night.

According to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman, both Steven Adams and Nerlens Noel will be re-evaluated prior to Friday night’s tip-off inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.

A video tweeted out by Maddie Lee showed Noel getting in some post-practice work.

Noel has missed the last six games with a left ankle sprain. He suffered in the injury in the third quarter of Oklahoma City’s win over the Cavaliers on Jan. 4 when he stepped on the foot of Tristan Thompson while chasing a ball out of bounds.

Billy Donovan told The Oklahoman that Noel has been progressing, saying of his Thursday practice, “obviously he was able to do a lot more today, running around and stuff.”

Adams was injured during the first half of the Thunder’s loss to Toronto on Wednesday night and was ruled out at halftime with a right knee contusion.

Donovan said he was “sore” but the Thunder head coach was unsure of where “Adams is physically” ahead of Friday’s game.

Though Mike Muscala played well against the Raptors on Wednesday, without the presence of Adams or Noel, Toronto dominated the points in the paint, 62-48.

Friday’s game will be the first this season between Oklahoma City and the Heat.

Report: Abdel Nader and Nerlens Noel out for game against Raptors

Abdel Nader and Nerlens Noel are two of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s most productive bench players.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will not have two productive bench players available Wednesday in their game against the Toronto Raptors.

According to The Athletic’s Erik Horne, Abdel Nader and Nerlens Noel will both be out with left ankle sprains. Nader suffered an ankle sprain Monday during the Thunder’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Noel will miss his sixth straight game due to the injury, which he suffered during the Thunder’s win against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 4. 

Per Horne, the Thunder have also recalled Justin Patton from their G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. On Tuesday, Patton had a stellar outing, scoring a team-high 45 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Patton shot 61.3% from the field and 50% from the 3-point line.

A third-year center out of Creighton, Patton has averaged 12.1 points per game this season in 23 games and leads the Blue in rebounds per game (8.2).

Nader, a third-year wing, is playing a career-high 16.3 minutes. His 3-point shooting production has rose with his increased minutes, as he’s shooting a career-high 36.4% from the 3-point line on a career-high 2.4 attempts.

Noel has been a key defensive player and rebounder in coming off the bench this season. He leads the team in blocks per game (1.5), and he also is averaging 5.1 rebounds.

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