Chicago Bulls Must Keep Joakim Noah Healthy at All Costs
The Chicago Bulls may enter 2014-15 deeper and healthier than they were a season ago, but preserving their improved rotation through 82 games (and likely beyond) is by no means automatic.
After Derrick Rose played a combined 49 games over his last three campaigns due to injuries, his return has justifiably garnered much of the attention surrounding the club's preseason.
The even bigger priority, however, may be ensuring that reigning Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah doesn't follow in Rose's footsteps.
The 29-year-old center had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee in May, prompting around three months of rehabilitation.
Though the seven-year veteran admitted to feeling better in July, he recently told reporters, "I still have a ways to go," per the Chicago Sun-Times.
"It's fine. It's a work in progress," he added. "It's getting better. I'm happy with where it's at."
Noah's minutes have accordingly been limited during the preseason, and those restrictions may not be lifted anytime soon.
"We'll just see how it goes," head coach Tom Thibodeau told media regarding the restrictions. "We've got some guys where it's a situation where they need to work, they need to play. But they also need to do what they can handle. It all plays into it.
"[Noah is] a work in progress. He's starting to feel better. You can see his timing is coming around. That was his first back-to-back [Monday and Tuesday night]. That was good. He has to work at it."
The good news is that Noah's season isn't currently threatened by injury. While there are reasons to be cautious, there's no immediate cause for panic.
"[No pain] at all," Noah told reporters this week. "In the beginning I was a little bit more uncomfortable, I was a little limited. I still have to get my strength back, I have to get the strength back in my leg. Just trying to manage practicing, playing. But overall I'm happy with where it's at."
The bigger question, then, is how to make sure Noah stays healthy.
There are rumblings this could be a bigger problem than Noah and the Bulls are admitting.
"Jo's [left] knee is going to be an issue all season," one "member of the Noah camp" told the Chicago Sun-Times' Joe Cowley this week. "He has played through pain before with the plantar [fasciitis], but this is completely different, a different level."
Regardless of the knee's actual status, there are good reasons to take a conservative approach with Noah.
He's averaged more than 35 minutes per contest in each of his last two seasons, and he's remained pretty durable in the process—playing 80 games last season and averaging 42 minutes through his five playoff games.
But Noah has been no stranger to nagging injuries, including a series of minor and not-so-minor ankle problems. It's par for the course for a player whose calling card is energy and physicality. Things are going to happen.
Noah admitted that his knee bothered him in Chicago's opening round against the Washington Wizards, perhaps demonstrating the consequences of frequent usage throughout the season. After a 20-point Game 2, Noah's scoring dropped precipitously during the final three contests of the series.
The hope, however, is that the regular season will take a decreased toll on Noah's body, keeping him fresh for the postseason and allowing him to exert all that havoc when it really counts.
The Bulls depended on Noah in unprecedented ways last season. He supplemented his usual rim protection and rebounding duties with a career-high 5.4 assists per contest. In Rose's continued absence, Noah has emerged as one of the club's best playmakers—a testament to his versatility and importance to any serious title push.
This season could be different.
Signing Pau Gasol gives Thibodeau options. In addition to the size and defensive chops to defend at the 5 spot, Gasol ensures Chicago another big man who can pass out of the post.
As Cowley recently put it, "While Gasol was considered an upgrade in the post for the Bulls, especially over Carlos Boozer, he also played center/power forward like Noah and had an unselfish pass-first mentality that the Bulls demand of their big men."
In other words, sitting Noah won't stagnate the offense this season, not with Rose and Gasol around to keep the ball moving.
Power forward Taj Gibson—who was a close runner-up to Jamal Crawford in last season's Sixth Man of the Year voting—is poised to mop up increased playing time after averaging a career-high 28.7 minutes per contest in 2013-14.
The five-year veteran defends the paint, is explosive around the rim and has displayed a much-improved mid-range game of late. There's no reason he can't contribute 30-plus minutes at the 4 and 5 spots in a bid to lessen the load on Noah.
Rookie power forward Nikola Mirotic offers a different look at power forward thanks to his perimeter shooting.
Depth in the paint isn't a problem for this roster. There's no reason Noah needs to play more than 30 minutes per game this season.
Even if you put the knee issues aside, we're talking about a big 6'11" body that's at its best when fully fueled. This is the kind of motor you want humming in mint condition. If we're going to start thinking of the Bulls as contenders, the minutes conversation is an unavoidable one.
Thibodeau is notorious for running players into the ground. He played Jimmy Butler 38.7 minutes per game last season and played Luol Deng at least 37 minutes per game his last three-and-a-half seasons in Chicago. Even Rose played at least 35.3 minutes per contest his first two years under Thibodeau.
With this summer's additions of rookie Doug McDermott and veteran Aaron Brooks to a perimeter rotation that already included Rose, Butler and swingman Mike Dunleavy, the Bulls could distribute playing time more evenly across the board—at least if Thibodeau is amenable.
In Noah's case, there's a pretext for reduced minutes, at least initially.
It may become more difficult for Thibodeau to sit him as the season goes on, however. The Bulls' identity lies on the defensive end, and Noah is a huge part of that. He defends the post, deters penetration and covers serious ground against the pick-and-roll. Even with other respectable options at the position, it's impossible to replace Noah's unique impact.
Teammates thrive off his intensity and leadership, and this organization's ability to remain afloat in Rose's absence is squarely a product of Noah's contributions on and off the floor.
With the Florida product turning 30 in February, however, now may the time for Chicago to rethink its policy on Noah's heavy minutes. The Bulls' dependency on their inimitable center is understandable, but it's probably counterproductive to the franchise's title ambitions.
A lower dosage of Noah is far better than no Noah at all.
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