It's been a situation in flux behind Thaddeus Young and Spencer Hawes in the Sixers' frontcourt rotation this season. Royce White, Gani Lawal, Daniel Orton have all come and gone, Lavoy Allen has shuttled in and out of the lineup with various maladies, and the only guy who seems to be able to nail down consistent minutes is the thusfar execrable Brandon Davies.
Help, however, would appear to be on the way. We've already gotten minor reinforcements in the form of Dewayne Dedmon, an undrafted rookie center out of USC that had been playing for the Santa Cruz Warriors of the D-League before being signed to a ten-day contract by the Sixers. Dedmon isn't billed as much of a scorer--though he did average 15 a game with the Warriors--but is said to be a rebounder and a shot-blocker, and in last night's win over the Bobcats, he provided that, grabbing seven boards and swatting two shots in 14 minutes of game action.
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He may be joined on the front lines soon by second-year forward Arnett Moultrie. There was some thought that Moultrie would likely be cleared to play last night against Charlotte after missing the season's first two-and-a-half months after undergoing ankle surgery, but he apparently isn't quite in good enough shape for Coach Brown's liking just yet to get in game action.
"There are some medical tests and fitness tests that he has to pass so we don’t re-injure him,” CSN's Dei Lynam reports Brown explaining. "I am excited to see him play but there is criteria with regards to body-weight goals and fitness tests that just have not been met...to go this duration and shortcut it and re-injure him would just be reckless and irresponsible, so we are going to be patient with him." (Brown also says that Lavoy will likely be back and ready to go for the Ballers before Arnett.)
Much more exciting than any of this, though, is the revelation yesterday that it might not be too long before we get an extended look at prized rookie acquisition, Nerlens Noel. After spending the better part of the season recuperating from ACL surgery he underwent in early 2013--with Coach Brown wisely telling reporters that he expected Noel not to be back this season, thus taking the pressure off him to return--the infamous Dr. James Andrews has now reported that Nerlens has been cleared to begin basketball activities.
So when does that mean Nerlens will finally suit up for the Sixers? Well, that's still a ways away from being determined, and the answer might still be "not this season" if Brown and the rest of the staff get a look at Noel on the court and don't quite like what they see. But sources tell ESPN that if he stays on schedule and doesn't suffer a setback, the big man could be game-ready in 4-6 weeks, likely placing his return sometime a week or two after the All-Star break.
But again, just because he's been cleared by his doctors doesn't mean he's been cleared by the team, and given how conservative they've been with matters of health this year (and given how low a priority winning ballgames is this year) it'd probably be prudent not to get too excited just yet. Still, you watch video like this, and it's hard not to get a little antsy:
VIDEO: #Sixers Nerlens Noel gets in more shooting practice http://t.co/O2rdEc1XmG
— Christopher A. Vito (@ChrisVito) January 14, 2014
At the very least, our Brandon Davies-related suffering should be greatly reduced in the upcoming weeks. For that, we should be thankful.