PRETTY MUCH since training camp, coach Brett Brown has had a bat, but no ball to hit. A computer with no keyboard.
During the limited, early practice sessions in which both Jahlil Okafor and Nerlens Noel were available to him, Brown pitted the two big men against each other instead of pairing them on the same side. The coach's thinking was to get them acclimated to playing against another true big for a while before siding them on the same team.
But then both suffered minor injuries that cost them time on the court. Finally, on Tuesday, Brown was able to input an offensive game plan with Okafor playing the center spot and Noel at power forward in anticipation of the team's last preseason game on Friday and regular-season opener next Wednesday in Boston.