3 NBA Players Who Could Learn a Lot from Watching Joakim Noah
Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls, more than any player in the league, is better defined by his intangibles than his numbers. There are more talented centers in the league, but Noah plays on their level because of who he is as much as what he does. What if they gleaned from him?
There are plenty of bigs who could learn from Noah. Jonas Valanciunas could learn from Noah’s ambition, Kenneth Faried could benefit from Noah’s attention to detail, and Tristan Thompson could use Noah’s defensive pride.
But there are three players in particular who could take their games to another level if they could adapt just one aspect of Noah’s intangibles: Gorgui Dieng, DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis.
Gorgui Dieng: Development
In many ways, the Minnesota Timberwolves' Dieng is like a young Noah. He’s a lanky defensive specialist who is a beast on the boards, plays with reckless abandon and has the potential to be an All-Star.
When Noah was drafted, his negatives sound similar to the ones Dieng currently has. Here’s what ESPN.com said about Noah:
"He's too thin and doesn't seem to have the frame to hold much more weight. He's very raw offensively and gets most of his points on dunks and offensive rebounds. Footwork in the post needs work. Has virtually no range on the jump shot. What position does he play in the pros?
"
And Dieng’s report sounds just like Noah:
"Dieng is an interesting pick. He's old and not very polished -- two major red flags. But he is a good shot blocker and rebounder and a good passer from the high post. Yes, he's a project, but he's still intriguing because he got such a late start in the game.
"
They are both long, lanky, athletic bigs with superb defensive instincts. You don’t have to set up offensive plays for them. Their similarities are why Noah would be a great mentor for the young fella.
Noah carved out a place for himself on the court by first becoming an elite defender. He developed into big who could step out and guard the perimeter as comfortably as stay at home in the post. Then he started adding the other aspects of his game, like the high-post passing and a limited number of low-post moves. Now he’s one of the best all-around centers in the game.
Dieng would be well-served to copy Noah’s road map to stardom. He has the kind of lateral quickness and reflexes to do the same. If he can protect both the perimeter and the rim the way Noah does, he would be a nice counterpart to the more offensive-minded Nikola Pekovic.
As a high-post passer, he would be a nice complement to the fancy facilitating of Ricky Rubio.
In fact, if I were Dieng, I’d even pick up the phone, call Noah and try to schedule some time to work out together in the summer. It’s become increasingly common for players from different teams to train together, so why not?
Anthony Davis: Passion
Davis, of the New Orleans Pelicans, is one of the great young talents in the NBA right now. If there’s a player under 25 who has the potential to be top-20 all-time, it’s him. Noah isn’t nearly as gifted as Davis, but that doesn’t mean he has nothing to teach him.
Where he could gain the most is how to play with passion. And this isn’t really meant as a swipe at Davis. He plays hard, but he doesn’t play passionately, and those are two different things.
There are moments I think of as Braveheart moments. These are those instances that make you feel like Mel Gibson addressing the troops. They make you want to run around the house with your face painted, screaming, “They cannot take our freedom!!!”
Noah has a few Braveheart moments.
The first of those came in Game 6 of the Bulls’ playoff series against the Boston Celtics in 2009. With the game tied at 123 in the third overtime, Noah got the steal and the breakaway dunk. Paul Pierce fouled out, challenging the shot. Then following a positively Noah-esque primal scream, he made the and-1 free throw, which turned out to be the winning point.
In the aftermath, Noah celebrated with his teammates, the entire United Center and the cheerleaders; it was one prolonged bath in the joy of winning.
In the 2013 postseason, the Bulls were playing the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. They were already without their MVP point guard, Derrick Rose.
During the series, All-Star Luol Deng literally nearly died (original link is broken) after experiencing side effects to a spinal tap. Kirk Hinrich experienced a calf injury after Game 4 and he was out for the remainder of the series.
Half the team had contracted the flu. That was highlighted by Nate Robinson throwing up on the sideline.
If ever there was a series where a team left it all out on the floor, this was it (and would have literally the case if it weren’t for Robinson’s handy garbage can).
And it was Noah who stood out the most in Game 7. Somehow, playing with one injured knee, he hoisted Chicago’s metaphorical bovine corpse on his back, and carried it to one of the most dramatic wins in first-round history, scoring 24 points, grabbing 14 boards and blocking six shots.
Finally, last season, after the heartbreaking loss of Rose for another season, the Bulls traded Noah’s long-time teammate and close friend, Deng. For days, Noah didn’t address the press, but when he did, it inspired the city, not just the team. Per Nick Friedell of ESPN, Noah said:
"We just want to represent. We know this is a city that ... even when I come to the game, I see the guy selling the newspapers on the streets. [It's] cold outside -- when he sees me driving by, he's excited. You know what I mean? He's excited. He's like, 'All right. Let's go Bulls! Get it done tonight!' I feel like I play for that guy. Like when I look at the top of the arena, and I look up top and I see teams call timeout, and I see the guy who looks this big and he's up cheering up and down, jumping up and down, that's the guy I play for. To me, that's what this city represents. There's a lot of hardship in here, a lot of adversity in this city, and I feel like when I play basketball I want people to be proud of their team.
"
It might sound crazy to say a statement to the press saved a season, but it’s accurate. After Noah said that, the Bulls had the best record in the Eastern Conference. Noah won the Defensive Player of the Year, was First-Team All-NBA and finished fourth in MVP voting.
Noah has so much passion he makes himself better than his talent and inspires those around him to be bigger than they are. And that’s what Davis could learn from him.
I say this unequivocally. With the talent Davis has, if he can learn to play with Noah’s passion, the Pelicans will be the NBA’s next dynasty.
DeMarcus Cousins: Chill
If there’s a center in the league that matches Joakim Noah’s intensity, it’s DeMarcus Cousins. The only problem is: Cousins uses his passion for evil instead of good.
Cousins has amazing and versatile talent. Per Basketball-Reference.com, Kevin Garnett is the only player with more points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks by age 23. He also has something in common with Noah.
When Noah was a rookie in 2008, he was still immature and a bit of problem. In fact, things got to the point where even his own teammates felt the need to reprimand him. When head coach Jim Boylan suspended Noah, the rest of the team had a meeting and voted unanimously to extend it to two games.
Since then, Noah has learned to channel his intensity so that it helps instead of hinders. He hasn’t been perfect. There have been blow-ups, such as last season’s incident where he directed a particular two-word expletive at each of the officials upon being ejected.
But there have been other times where he’s served as a peacemaker. In one game against the Miami Heat, Michael Beasley was fouled hard. And when it looked like a fight was to break out, Noah looked at him with an expression that said, “We’re Bob Marley brothers, man, simmer down.” And Beasley just sort of…stopped. It was one of the most diffusing instances I’ve seen on a court.
Noah has intensity, and so does Cousins. But Cousins doesn’t just have an edge, he seems like he’s all edge and no “surface.” To quote the slang phrase, “He has no chill.”
There is a list of things that Cousins has found himself in trouble for. ESPN.com recounts some of them:
"Cousins was suspended one game by the Kings on Dec. 22 for "unprofessional behavior and conduct detrimental to the team" after an incident involving then-coach Keith Smart in the locker room during a loss at the Los Angeles Clippers.
He was suspended by the NBA for one game without pay for striking O.J. Mayo in the groin during a loss at Dallas on Dec. 10. Following a loss at San Antonio on Nov. 9, the league suspended Cousins two games without pay for confronting Spurs announcer Sean Elliott in a "hostile manner."
"
Noah has chill. Whether he’s touring museums, enjoying the music of Fela Kuti, kicking back on the beach, or practicing yoga, he’s a man of eclectic interests. He’s found other outlets for his boundless energy, and it helps him on the court because it makes him a bigger man.
Being “cultured” has a stigma to it, albeit an unfair one. Learning to appreciate a variety of things can stretch a person’s soul, and that’s an enlarging experience. That, in turn, gets transferred to other walks of life, such as basketball.
Cousins needs exposure to more things. He’s considered self-centered, but that may not be entirely fair. Back in 2010, Jason King of Yahoo reported Cousins’ college coach, John Calipari as saying, “He’s not some self-absorbed j-g-o-f. He’s really not. He’s got a huge heart for other people. He cares about how they feel.”
It’s interesting on a couple of counts: First because of what it says, and second because Calipari was addressing the subject back then.
Maybe the problem isn’t so much a “moral” one as it is a subjective one. Maybe the solution is to pull the frog out of the well. Exposure to a variety of things could help Cousins mature, and that could help him learn how to channel his intensity for good instead of evil.
My advice to Cousins would be to call Noah (after Dieng is done working out with him) and then spend a couple of weeks traveling with him and learning him about life. That—more than anything that will happen on the court—would help Cousins to make it to the next level.
And while Deing is practicing and Cousins and Noah are traveling, Davis should be watching footage Game 6 of the 2013 playoffs, over and over until he’s running around the house screaming, “They cannot take our freedom!!!”
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
