Brett Brown plans to go big again against the Nets, but that will not include Nerlens Noel in the mix.
Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor will start together when the Nets visit South Philadelphia on Sunday evening for the first time this season. Noel will not be part of the rotation barring foul problems or injuries to starters. Brown does not see squeezing all three into the rotation will help the Sixers.
"I think trying to force feed three bigs in a game in unfair," Brown said pregame. "I intend on going with two of those three bigs tonight. Nerlens will not be one of those people that will be in rotation unless something happens with foul trouble or some type of other circumstance."
Noel spoke out about playing eight minutes on Friday, his second game back from elective left knee surgery. He met with Brown on Saturday morning before practice. Brown said his comments did not influence the rotation decision.
"It has zero to do with anything he said to the press," Brown said.
The Sixers' flow has been impacted since they began starting Embiid and Okafor together. Ersan Ilyasova has been moved to the bench and Dario Saric has been shifted to small forward. Brown sees the decision about Noel as a way to create better flow. They are not tied to keeping Noel out of the rotation, but going with his for now.
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"We talked freely with Bryan, my staff, owners that we feel that two out of the three you can find ways to responsibly play without hurting the team," Brown said.
