With Mitchell Robinson battling damage all season, Nerlens Noel has been stepping up in his place down low and making one of the best of it.

The Kentucky product got here to the Knicks this season to supply strong rim-protecting prowess and scoring capability within the paint, and he is delivered on each.

However he is aware of he cannot take all of the credit score, because the Knicks’ teaching employees — led by head coach Tom Thibodeau — has helped create the correct tradition to thrive in.

“Everyone has one another’s again,” Noel mentioned on the newest episode of The Putback with Ian Begley, introduced by 888Sport. “The resilience issue is main on this locker room. Clearly, it’s instilled at an important drive by Coach Thibs. He’s an East Coast dude, and he is aware of what New York’s about. He positively places 110 p.c into us, ensuring we’re holding issues tight, holding issues correct, making the correct performs, making the correct reads, taking part in the correct manner. Interval.

“In the event you give in to this recreation and respect it, you’ll get every part again. Coach Thibs is a giant believer in that and so am I.”

A well-known face in former Kentucky assistant Kenny Payne was additionally one other large identify to hitch Thibs’ employees, and he was somebody Noel, Kevin Knox and others labored with up to now. Noel advised SNY he is completely happy to nonetheless have that connection within the NBA with a coach whom he deeply admires.

“Once I first bought to Kentucky, he was slightly – it was all the time an important relationship – however he positively pushed me to new boundaries and bounds that I wanted to get to at 18, 19 years previous,” Noel defined. “A relationship of identical to a father and son. He’s all the time had my again, giving me that good recommendation that I wanted whether or not – in all probability can’t repeat it on right here – however he positively all the time gave me that additional little nudge I must deal with my enterprise the correct manner.

“Kenny Payne positively brings that additional mentality and edge to actually make a participant what he needs to be.”

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Since taking up because the group’s starter again in February, Noel leads the Knicks with 68 blocks and 87 offensive rebounds getting into Wednesday evening’s recreation towards the Hawks.

“Simply positively assume I’ve been slightly extra aggressive taking part in extra on the rim, however I’ve accomplished it actually all my profession,” he mentioned. “This group is formed to have an aggressive defensive strategy and guys taking part in, speaking, working round, switching. So positively simply how the group is about up helps me out.”

Noel is the one participant within the NBA to common two blocks and one steal per recreation, is second in defensive field plus/minus, third in greatest group defensive ranking when beginning, and fourth in blocks per recreation.

Noel touches on a few of his greatest blocks of the season, what the return of followers within the stands has been like, the group’s protection, and extra all through the total episode of The Putback, which you’ll watch above.