Brown preaches patience about Noel’s lack of playing time with Sixers

BROOKLYN - The evaluations continued last night at the Barclays Center, as coach Brett Brown mixed and matched what available bodies he had at his disposal against a veteran Nets team that used its next-to-last preseason game as a true tuneup.

While new Nets coach Lionel Hollins was getting his rotations in place and figuring out what substitutions work best when, Brown, who was without Noel and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (sore back) is still admittedly in training-camp mode, looking more to see who will be a part of his squad on Opening Night rather than who will be playing with whom and for how many minutes.

The Sixers had no match for Mason Plumlee down low, as he bulled to 20 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Nets to a 99-88 victory. The Sixers had a balanced scoring attack, with Tony Wroten and Henry Sims scoring 13 each, Hollis Thompson and Elliot Williams both going for 11, and Arnett Moultrie pitching in 10. They again struggled with their shooting, however, hitting only 39.2 percent of their shots, including 5-for-26 from three-point range.

"I'm still in a mode where I'm letting people try out," said Brown, whose team fell to 2-5 in the preseason. "I'm not trying to polish up this perfect rotation for Opening Night. That's not us. We're trying to give guys looks. Who has a legitimate chance of making the team? I want to personally feel comfortable like I've given people a fair shot to make teams. There are a few people who still deserve opportunities to play and be seen."

Rookie K.J. McDaniels (five points and four blocks) still impressed with his overall activity; Brandon Davies (six points, six rebounds, five assists) continued his noticeable audition to make the team; and Drew Gordon had nine each of points and rebounds.

Deron Williams and Alan Anderson had 13 each for the Nets, who also played Sunday in an experimental 44-minute game. Oddly, it's the fourth time this preseason the Sixers have played a team on the second night of back-to-backs. Many times, it means not seeing the whole arsenal of opponents, which could be a good thing for the Sixers.

"I'm at a stage right now where I don't really mind, because it still enables us to get different looks," Brown said. "We, too, we have a lot of guys out. It offers opportunities for others.

"Whatever the situation — who's on the court, back-to-backs — it doesn't bother me because of our situation in this growth of a young team."

Brown preaches patience about Noel's lack of playing time

It's not time to hit the panic button when it comes to Nerlens Noel, the 76ers insist. Just because he missed a few games during summer-league play because of rest and a twisted ankle and didn't play in his fourth of seven preseason games last night, all is good.

"Not wanting to have anybody play when they haven't had a practice under his belt previously," coach Brett Brown said on Noel's sitting. "He hasn't practiced in however many days and to just have him go out and play, we're not going to do that. We will, he will, practice [today], and I think we'll be back on track.

"If we force-fed him, he could go play. But we're not going to do that. He's been sick, he's lost some weight. That's not smart. Possibly in a regular-season game, we would consider that."

Noel missed a game earlier this preseason with a bruised thigh, which stiffened up after a couple of days. He has missed the past three with an upper-respiratory infection. The real shame of it is, the last time he played, he gave Sixers fans a glimpse of what he might be able to provide to this organization. He scored 12 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, snatched four steals, dealt three assists and blocked a shot in close to 34 minutes against the Knicks. It appeared as if some of the accumulated rust was starting to peel away. Now this.

"How much rust [he has] is somebody's opinion," Brown said. "The plan was to maximize summer leagues and have a great preseason and move quickly into the regular season. That has taken a hit, it hasn't gone to plan. It's all good, but it hasn't gone to plan. It's a minor setback. We'll move him along at an intelligent pace."

Guard Tony Wroten missed Saturday's game against the Orlando Magic because his 1-year old son fell and suffered a cut on his head that needed emergency-room attention. It happened only a couple of hours before the Sixers played and everyone agreed Wroten should be with his son. He was back in action last night against the Nets.

"He fell while he was jumping around," Wroten said. "He's all good now."

Besides Noel and Mbah a Moute, Malcolm Lee (sprained left ankle) and Saint Joseph's product Ronald Roberts (strained left quadriceps) were also out for the Sixers... The team's last preseason game is Thursday in Detroit. The Sixers open the season Oct. 29 in Indiana ... Taney Dragons pitcher Mo'ne Davis will present the game ball for the Sixers' home opener on Nov. 1 against the Miami Heat, the team announced. Also, Billy Cunningham and Julius Erving will participate in a halftime Q&A.