Those concerned about Nerlens Noel’s ankle can breathe a sigh of relief. Prior to tipping of their second exhibition contest on Sunday, head coach Billy Donovan notified reporters that Noel would be available for the contest.
After tweaking his ankle in practice, Noel spent a few days being limited to non-contact drills in practice. He would eventually be held out of the team’s first exhibition contest on Friday, wherein they defeated the Boston Celtics by a final score of 98-84.
Although the games do not count in the win-loss standings, the reason the NBA approved exhibition contests was to give players the opportunity to ramp up their activity levels. After a four-month layoff and not playing competitive games, going directly into highly-competitive playoff games would have been a recipe for disaster. There would have probably been a large number of injuries suffered.
So, if nothing else, the exhibition schedule gives players an opportunity to not only bust off rust, but improve their conditioning. So playing is important.
Fortunately, for Oklahoma City, Noel will be available when the contest begins.
Abdel Nader, however, won’t. Nader was diagnosed with a concussion on Saturday after hitting his head on the court during Friday’s exhibition game. He is considered day-to-day.
