After spending last season trying to figure out how to put Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor on the court together and have the 76ers thrive - and after pretty much washing his hands of the idea after a while - Brett Brown spent Tuesday talking about a similar topic. There were two fascinating things about what he said: his optimism, and his relative exclusion of Okafor from that optimism.
After missing the Sixers' first 21 games this season following knee surgery, then spraining his left ankle in his first game back Sunday, Noel could return Wednesday night against the Toronto Raptors or Friday night against the Los Angeles Lakers.