Nerlens Noel, a former Knick, signed a 10-day contract with the Nets on Monday, and coach Jacque Vaughn promised to play him the following day. Noel played for the first time in a month and made his debut with the Nets in their game against the Rockets, which they won 118-96.
After the game, Noel admitted he was tired and winded, but happy to get some rust off and contribute. Vaughn wanted to see if Noel could contribute and quickly used one of the 10 days in his contract to see what he could give the team.
Noel played for 17:48 minutes, and his quickness allowed him to protect the rim. He helped the Nets to cruise through the game, which helped Vaughn to spare starter Nic Claxton, who had already been overused.
Noel’s addition should alleviate the need to utilize Yuta Watanabe and Royce O’Neale as small-ball five backups.
As a result of Noel’s inclusion in the game, Cam Thomas was knocked out of the rotation at least temporarily.
Vaughn wanted to see how Noel would perform and substituted him for Thomas, keeping Dorian Finney-Smith away from the five positions to see what that would look like if they were bigger.
Bridges had his right wrist wrapped after his 30-point game, but he said he was okay despite taking a knock to the wrist against the Hornets on Sunday.
Edmond Sumner also rejoined the team after his wife gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Amara.
Sumner did not play, but he was happy to be back with the team. The Long Island team won their 15th straight game, which is the third-longest streak in G-League history, and they have already secured a playoff spot.
»Nerlens Noel signs 10-day contract with the Nets«
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