The Bulls have the NBA’s deepest frontcourt; it’s so deep, in fact, that All-Star center Joakim Noah is coming off the bench. New coach Fred Hoiberg said Noah volunteered to start the game on the bench to increase chemistry, but Noah has come forward to admit that he never asked to sit.
Joakim Noah acknowledges that he didn't ask to come off the bench. He's just trying to do what's best for the team.
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) October 30, 2015
Noah and Gasol are both post-oriented players, which creates spacing issues for Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler on the perimeter since neither are knockdown shooters. Hoiberg is starting games with Gasol and stretch-four Nikola Mirotic, and letting Noah team with Taj Gibson to give Chicago more dogged defense. Noah, however, is in a contract year which Bulls reporter Nick Friedell noted on Twitter.
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Noah is a proud player. He wants his team to win. But he didn't want to come off the bench, especially in a contract year. He wants to play. — Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) October 30, 2015
But Noah also doesn't want to rock the boat. And he will handle situation as best he can I think he just wanted to set record straight today
— Nick Friedell (@NickFriedell) October 30, 2015
The conflict is strange, since Hoiberg said Noah approached him with the idea of not starting.
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“Jo actually came to me and talked to me about that. He said, basically, ‘I’ve always played well with Taj.’ He said he thought Niko and Pau played very well together, so let’s go that route. It was actually Jo that started the whole conversation. He came to me. That says a lot about him.”
Noah’s production was down last season as he battled through injuries. He averaged 7.2 points, his lowest since the 2008-09 season, and he lost two boards off his average from the previous two years. In Chicago’s first two games he has played about 17 minutes in each, and has yet to score a point.
That could affect Noah’s bottom line after the season, but it won’t derail the Bulls. In addition to Gasol, Noah, Mirotic and Gibson, they also have promising first round pick Bobby Portis, a monster rebounder with 3-point range. Even if the injury bug bites, the biggest problem for Hoiberg will be Noah’s ego, and not depth.
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