Holmes outplaying Noel, Okafor since Sixers, Mavericks trade

Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor  

The Philadelphia 76ers haven't given up at all this season, despite numerous injuries to their centers and trades to shake up their roster. On Friday night, the Sixers beat the Mavericks by 42, their largest margin of victory since 2008. It also snapped an eight-game skid against Dallas overall. 

The big headline heading into last night's game was the return of Nerlens Noel after he was traded to the Mavericks for Justin Anderson and two second-round picks. The city of Philadelphia embraced Noel throughout his three seasons as a Sixer and they welcomed him back with a nice tribute video and ovation upon his entry into the game. Noel came off the bench and finished with nine points, five rebound, three assists and a block. He was primarily matched up against Jahlil Okafor while on the floor. Okafor ended the game with a subpar performance, 10 points, three rebounds and six turnovers. Despite the win though, Sixers Twitter took to their keyboards and started the Noel/Okafor comparisons. The real story from last night? Richaun Holmes outplayed both of them. 

Noel finished the game with a -8 and Okafor with a +1 while Richaun Holmes was a +35 on the night as the teams' starting center. This entire season, many have believed that the Sixers should part ways with both Okafor and Noel, retaining Holmes as the primary back-up. Last night, and over the past 12 games, Holmes has proven that he can more than handle that role. Let's take a look at the three centers (Noel, Holmes and Okafor) since the Dallas trade. 

• Player A: 23.1 MPG 14.6 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 0.8 BPG, 52.3 FG%
• Player B: 23.4 MPG, 10.1 PPG,  7.5 RPG, 1.25 BPG,  58.9 FG%
• Player C: 25 MPG, 13.0 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.33 BPG, 63.1 FG% 

Any idea who is who? Player A is Jahlil Okafor. Despite inconsistent play, Jah has put up solid numbers since the departure of Nerlens Noel. He didn't have the best showing against his former teammate last night, but put together good games offensively and defensively against the Lakers and Warriors in the two games prior. At this point, it still seems likely that Okafor gets dealt prior to the draft or on draft night, because even though he's handled a ton of adversity with professionalism this season, his slow pace and defensive inefficiency makes him a liability for the Sixers. He deserves a new home like Noel, and hopefully if he gets to play elsewhere, he succeeds. 

Player B? Nerlens Noel. The former Sixer has had some dominant games with the Mavericks since the trade, but has missed time with knee soreness as well. His best game thus far with Dallas came on March 3 against Memphis, a 15-point, 17-rebound night. Up until last night, the Mavs were 6-1 since the Noel trade. Against the Sixers, he missed a couple of lob passes he normally converts and seemed unable to stop the penetration by Holmes, McConnell and the Philadelphia offense.

That brings us to player C, Richaun Holmes. Since the trade, Holmes has gotten more minutes, helping him become a more consistent part of Philadelphia's game plan. He got the start against Dallas last night because of their small lineup and hit his first seven shots, finishing the game with 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. His style of play is very similar to that of Noel's, but Holmes adds a more impressive mid-range game and the occasional three-point shot. Holmes excels in the pick-in-roll offense, offers a similar rim protection package to Nerlens and brings an energy to the court that fans love. He's gone from the Sixers fourth center, to playing in the D-League to now starting in games. Simply, Richaun fits the style of play that the NBA is trending toward and fits in extremely well with Philadelphia's fast paced offense. Here's a look at his highlights from Friday's game:

Sure, the sample size since the trade is small, but there's no doubting Richaun Holmes' ability to be this teams' back-up center moving forward behind Joel Embiid. Although the Noel deal may not have pleased many, his numbers since the trade show that he isn't worth a max deal, especially with a guy like Holmes still on the roster at an affordable price. Noel was never comfortable long-term as a bench-player and because of it, he gets a fresh start in Dallas and Richaun Holmes can finally take center stage as one of the Sixers primary big men.