Best players in the New York Knicks vs Atlanta Hawks series: #10 Nerlens Noel
I was going back and forth between a trio of Knicks for the ten spot but ultimately settled on Noel. He’s been a defensive anchor, filling in as well as anyone possibly could in the absence of Mitchell Robinson. Robinson actually isn’t ruled out for the playoffs, but that scenario likely wouldn’t happen until a later round.
Back to Noel, he’s the only player in the entire NBA that’s averaging at least two blocks and one steal per game. For the big-time statisticians in the room, that’s exactly 2.2 rejections and 1.1 pilfers per game.
That defense was how the New York Knicks were able to lock up the 4-seed in the Eastern Conference and Noel has been the leader of the pack. He’ll have his hands full with Clint Capela, but as far as players who can have big impacts on this series, Nerlens Noel should be on the list.