Joakim Noah's Shoulder Injury Could Accelerate Change for Chicago Bulls

CHICAGO — There’s no such thing as a good time for a key player to get injured, but for the Chicago Bulls, this week is an especially bad one.

It’s a week in which their best player, Jimmy Butler, called out head coach Fred Hoiberg to reporters after a loss, which the Bulls followed up with a listless performance in another loss at home. They’re riding a three-game losing streak into a Christmas Day matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder, accompanied by more uncertainty than ever about the long-term direction of the franchise.

And on the heels of all of that, Chicago has lost Joakim Noah for the immediate future. The veteran center suffered a left shoulder sprain in Monday night’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets, which is expected to sideline him for the next two to four weeks.

“My shoulder popped out and I felt it pop right back in,” Noah said after practice Wednesday. “So I guess that's a good sign. But it's very painful. … We got an X-ray right away, X-ray was negative, that was a good sign. MRI showed a slight tear, so I’m just letting it heal and hopefully I can get back soon.”

Kamil Krzaczynski/Associated Press

The Bulls’ upcoming stretch not only includes the Christmas game against the Thunder, but a road contest in Dallas and three matchups with fellow Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls—two against the Toronto Raptors and one against the Indiana Pacers.

And that’s just what Noah will miss if he comes back in two weeks, the best-case scenario.

Any setbacks or delays could keep him sidelined for matchups with the Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks and Washington Wizards. If his rehab lasts closer to four weeks, he could even miss the January 20 showdown against the Golden State Warriors.

In some ways, it’s a victory for the Bulls that an injury to Noah is a big deal at all. It means he’s become something resembling the defensive force he was two years ago, after being all but unplayable for much of last season, fighting through a knee injury that was more serious than initially thought. Even in a bench role with reduced minutes this season, he’s been effective again.

Unfortunately, that means that the Bulls can ill afford to lose him—especially now, with the team reeling and the cracks in its foundation becoming more and more apparent with each passing loss and report of faulty chemistry.

“It is tough,” Hoiberg said. “Jo is definitely our emotional leader out there. He’s a big reason for the success that second group has had offensively because of the movement he can generate. Looking at our possessions when Joakim initiates the offense, we’re very efficient with that. That takes that element away.”

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

In particular, the Bulls will feel Noah’s absence on the glass. When he’s on the court, Chicago grabs 54.1 percent of all available rebounds, equivalent to the second-best mark in the league, per NBA.com. When he’s on the bench, the Bulls get 47.5 percent of available rebounds, tied with the Los Angeles Clippers for the fourth-worst rebound rate in the NBA. (The Bulls’ overall rebound percentage is 14th in the league at 50.3 percent.)

Hoiberg and his staff haven’t yet decided how they’re going to handle the rotation in Noah’s absence, but between the injury and the general turbulence over the past week, change feels inevitable. One silver lining is that this will open up plenty of playing time for rookie Bobby Portis, whom Hoiberg has been trying to get onto the court lately anyway.

But playing Portis more doesn’t solve the Bulls’ problem of finding consistent production at small forward, where Hoiberg has been shuffling back and forth between Tony Snell and Doug McDermott, and even playing Nikola Mirotic out of position, none of which has worked too well.

This is why the Bulls are reportedly open to trading for a wing and breaking up their frontcourt logjam, according to Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski (via NBC Sports’ Kurt Helin). But with Noah on the shelf for the next month or so, his trade value will plummet, leaving Taj Gibson as the most attractive piece for potential trade partners.

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After everything that’s transpired recently with the fallout from Butler’s comments on top of the losing streak, this was going to be a trying, revealing week for the Bulls regardless. They have no shortage of issues to figure out both on the court and in the locker room.

“It's a challenge because there are so many strong personalities and very talented players,” Pau Gasol said Wednesday. “So if everybody claims a little bit of leadership, it's fine as long as there's a balance and mutual respect amongst individuals. So if you do that and you find that, then you're fine. But if you try to see who's the leader, who carries the most weight, who gets the most recognition, then you're in a bad position. But we understand that if we work together at the end of the day, we get more recognition and more credit if we win.”

The winning part is going to be more difficult without Noah, given the Bulls’ tough schedule ahead. Especially if they stay on the present course.

This is the time when they need to right the ship, and in order to do that, some kind(s) of change must be made.

Sean Highkin covers the Chicago Bulls for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.