3 Oklahoma City Thunder players who need to be given more minutes

#1 Nerlens Noel

Nerlens Noel has seen limited action during his time in Oklahoma City

While there is no doubting that Steven Adams has earned his spot as the Thunder's starting center, Nerlens Noel has consistently put forth his case for an increased role on the team.

Despite his limited minutes so far this season, Noel has managed to average an impressive 1.3 blocks per game, while also averaging 5.1 rebounds. Back on February 15, Noel posted 22 points and 13 rebounds in just 22 minutes against the New Orleans Pelicans, however, in the following game, the 24-year-old played just 11 minutes, which has been the story of his season so far.

In fact, the game against the Pelicans was the only occasion during February in which Noel featured for more than 20 minutes, and for the season as a whole, the 24-year-old is averaging just 14.2 minutes per game.

Noel can opt out of his deal in the summer, and if the Thunder want to keep one of the NBA's best backup centers on their roster, then Billy Donovan's needs to give Noel a bigger role during the final weeks of the season.