Should Chicago Bulls Shut Down Joakim Noah for a Rest?
Joakim Noah has long personified the competitive spirit of the Chicago Bulls, but his recent health issues mean it is time to put the emotive big on temporary leave.
Following their 2014 first-round playoff elimination courtesy of the Washington Wizards, Noah had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and was given up to 12 weeks for complete rehabilitation. The 6’11” center was limited during training camp and began the 2014-15 season on a playing time restriction.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau has mostly adhered to the minutes mandate. Noah is averaging 32 minutes per game and exceeded 35 minutes only five times; however, the December 6 contest against the Golden State Warriors was the last time he was active before playing 12 days later against the New York Knicks.
The former Florida Gator was not officially ruled out for a defined amount of time, but the impromptu sabbatical harks back to an October 21 writeup by Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times where the journalist cited an anonymous source saying that Noah’s knee would be an issue all season long.
While that claim remains unsubstantiated, this current duration is the perfect time for the Bulls to exercise some preventative action and grant their starting center some repose.
Weathering his absence
The Bulls are not necessarily teeming with true-center depth, but they do have more than a few serviceable players who can fill in if it is decided to sit Noah. Taj Gibson is the usual stopgap whenever Noah isn't able to suit up.
When the 2014 Sixth Man of the Year runner-up is plugged into the starting rotation along with regulars Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, Mike Dunleavy and Pau Gasol, the advanced stats courtesy of NBA.com show that the changes are negligible when compared to the usual bunch. The first team’s offensive rating declines, but the defensive rating goes up. The assist-to-turnover ratio actually shrinks, and there is only a -3.7 percent difference in their true-shooting percentage.
Nazr Mohammed is the only true center on the bench. He can contribute a pretty solid 10-12 minutes. Gasol could slide into the middle when an oft-played reserve forward like Nikola Mirotic checks into the game.
There are options for Tom Thibodeau, and luckily for him, these alternatives still give his team some productive punch even though they lack the intangibles that Noah usually brings.
The Downside of Sitting Him Now
Granting reprieve sooner rather than later would come at an inconvenient time when looking at the opponents the Bulls face over the next couple of weeks as there are some pretty formidable front lines on the horizons.
The Memphis Grizzlies, Washington Wizards and New Orleans Pelicans would all benefit greatly from facing a depleted Chicago frontcourt. Noah’s absence would put his team at a tremendous disadvantage, but that wouldn’t be the only drawback.
While the Bulls certainly do have the personnel to adequately distribute the 30 minutes left by the starting center’s void, it’s almost a foregone conclusion that Gibson and Gasol would absorb the lion’s share of that time. The former of that pair has had injury issues himself; he missed six games over a 12-day stretch that ran from November 24 to December 5.
Gasol has suited up regularly save for three consecutive matches he sat out in mid-November, but Thibodeau needs to be sensible with his 13-year veteran. The two-time world champion is playing well now; however, the real payoff will not kick in until the playoffs. It would be best not to overexert him during the regular season.
That leaves the team with needing to turn to Mohammed and Cameron Bairstow. Now, that’s not as bad as it sounds. At best, Thibs would only need about 15-18 minutes combined from these two. Considering that the bulk could go the more reliable Mohammed, this solution isn’t so horrible over a short stretch.
The problem is that Thibodeau is a creature of habit to a fault. Even when he changes things up, it does not take much for him to revert back to what is comfortable if the slightest misstep occurs. It is possible that he could go along with sitting Noah; it is less likely that he can consistently divvy up playing to time to make the yoke of compensating for the absence equitable.
Sit it down, big man
Noah suited up for the December 18 contest against the New York Knicks and played 33 minutes; he didn’t score much but did pull down 13 rebounds, six of them offensive. That is a great example how his contributions can be both nuanced and substantive. Still, it should not be used as proof that Noah is healed and belongs back in the lineup.
December finishes on rigorous note for Chicago. The schedule includes two other back-to-back pairings that lead into January where there are four more similar instances crammed among 17 games to kick off the New Year.
Instead of sitting Noah until he thinks he is ready to go again, sit him over an established range of days or games that allows for a better reassessment of his injury once he returns to action. It becomes harder to determine the extent of the damage if he is just thrust back into the lineup at the first sign of a positive turn and re-aggravates his knee or some other peripheral part of his anatomy.
Noah’s history clearly shows him to be the type of player who will try to play through anything. His dedication is admirable but also shortsighted. Just like with the gradual reintegration of Derrick Rose, the long-term goal has to take precedent. The team is better served ensuring that Noah can play when it really matters.
He won’t decide to rest himself; it has to be done for him. For the sake of the bigger picture, the team has to make that call.
All statistics courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com unless otherwise cited and are current as of December 19, 2014.
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