NBA Playoffs 2012: Chicago Bulls Are Officially Doomed If Noah Is out for Awhile

As if the Chicago Bulls had enough to worry about with Derrick Rose out for the entire postseason.

Things got even worse in the Windy City.

To the delight of the Philadelphia fans in attendance for Game 3 of the Bulls-76ers series, Chicago center Joakim Noah's ankle turned in a way that not even I—breaking my ankle twice while playing basketball—have ever seen.

It's rare to witness a cringe-like moment while watching a basketball game, but that was one of them. Say what you will about Noah and his attitude at times, but no one deserves to have that happen to them.

People always seem to criticize Noah for his occasional attempts at running the fast break at a near seven-feet tall, always saying that if something goes wrong, occurrences like tonight could happen.

Now, not only are the No. 1-seeded Bulls down 2-1 to an athletic, talented Philadelphia team, but they might have now officially lost two of their three best players for an extended period of time. Plus, it doesn't help when the Sixers have their number after winning in Chicago in Game 2.

If this series comes down to a battle of attrition and the Bulls are only down to Brian Scalabrine—you can throw in a Scalabrine joke, if you wish—then, while it may not be fair, it may be the second year in a row that a No. 1 seed gets eliminated by a No. 8 seed in the first round.

The reason why Chicago still seemed like a favorite in the East without Rose was because they proved that they could win a good number of ball games without the reigning MVP in the daily rotation. But they never had the chance to play many games without the services of D-Rose and Noah in the starting five.

He may not be their best overall defender, but Noah makes life difficult for most opposing big men, and that thought came to fruition after looking at Spencer Hawes' stat line: 21 points and nine rebounds.

Even though the Bulls kept the momentum going in the third after Noah went out, outscoring Philly 21-11, the Sixers took advantage without Noah in the lineup by getting to the free-throw line 13 times—not to mention Hawes' 12-point fourth quarter.

Omer Asik is going to have a tough time stopping Hawes' overall game from the outside and inside, which made Noah a formidable defender. Without him, the Philadelphia frontcourt might have a field day unless Asik becomes a big-time player for the rest of this series.

We tend to forget that the Sixers were a formidable team at the beginning of this season, and were one of the best teams in the East at one point during the year. Their athleticism on both sides of the ball made them very prolific and dangerous to most teams.

Without their two most athletic players, Chicago just can't match up as well as they'd like.

This series is far from over, without question. If the Bulls win Game 4 and send this series back to Chicago tied 2-2, then the proverbial bullet will have been dodged. But how much longer can the Bulls hold up if they keep losing players?

The two biggest bricks are already down. It'd be only a matter of time before the whole house collapses.