Well, Noah didn’t even play until 1/3 of the season had gone by last year, and it took a while to get back into his groove. But when he got there—we’re talking about the last 20-30 games he played--he was very very effective. We’re talking 10 and 7.5 in barely 20 minutes a game, with 3 assists and a block. His On/Off numbers were great. More importantly (for us), he was a hustle guy that was popular in the locker room and with fans. So, yeah, a guy like that would be worth a real whole lot—depending on three things.
Can he play like that for 50 or 60 games? And then the playoffs? Look, we don’t really need—or want—Noah to be a 25 mpg player. Or a 20 mpg player. We’re looking for a guy who can play 13-18 mpg in 50 or 60 games, and be a playoff beast. Is he healthy enough to do that? Looking at last year—he missed the last month of the season, but still played around 700 minutes—I kinda think yes. We’d want, maybe, 10% more than that, if that.
Can he stay with some PFs? The thing about Noah when he was at his peak was his engine. He took on everyone; he played well inside and on the perimeter on both sides of the floor. He was a level below the elites of the league. Those two times in MVP voting, the three All-D teams? Not a fluke. The question now is—can he still do some of that in a (much) more limited role? It would sure help if a team went old school on us and went big. Based on his play and attitude last year, I’m going to again say yeah.
Can Trezz play at PF? This is the big one. Because, really, we’re looking at and thinking/hoping we get season minutes like this from the frontcourt:
Trezz 2200 minutes
Zu 1650 minutes
JaMychal 1600 minutes
You’ve got to figure that teams will go small and we’ll sometimes have Harkless or PG at PF. Pencil in another 1200 minutes there. That leaves over 1250 minutes. Patterson could cover some of that. But if Trezz can play at PF, I’d (much) rather have Noah for 800 of those minutes. Think of the frontcourt trios we could put out there *if* Trezz can spend 1/2 of his time at PF. It opens up a new world. My God, think of a Noah and Trezz combo—remember that Noah can still handle and pass the ball well. Consider the lineup of
Noah
Trezz
Kawhi
PG
Bev
in the final minutes of a playoff game. Noah’s block % is still over 4. His Reb% is 19 plus. He still averages an assist every 7.5 minutes. Yeah, he’d help us.
This is a fan post, but it’s a knowledgeable fan who talks about the spacing benefits and mismatches Memphis got from Noah’s perimeter passing as well as his rebounding, D, ballhandling, and attitude last season.
https://www.grizzlybearblues.com/2019/3/4/18249549/joakim-noah-is-still-here-nba-memphis-grizzlies
