OKLAHOMA CITY -- As Rick Carlisle juggles his centers, trying to make time for those who earn it with the overriding focus being to win games, he had an interesting answer when asked what he wants to see most out of his big men.
"Competitiveness, care factor," he said. "Commitment to winning. Doing dirty work. Being there for your teammates. Those kind of things."
Reading too much into comments like that is risky, but since Nerlens Noel did not play Saturday against Cleveland, it was natural to draw the conclusion that the 6-11 center is lacking in some of those categories.