Chicago Bulls News: Keeping Joakim Noah Healthy!

Joakim Noah is the glue that holds this Chicago Bulls team together; without him they are a bunch of guys playing basketball; with him they are a highly cohesive team capable of accomplishing great feats together. The Bulls need a healthy Joakim Noah if they hope to realize their dream of winning a championship this season.

Noah’s 2013-2014 ended in the worst possible way. A team source announced after the Bulls had officially been eliminated by Washington from the playoffs that Noah underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. Although the team source dismissed the procedure as minor, Bulls fans remained somewhat skeptical. After all, this fan-base isn’t new to major question surrounding players after knee surgery (cough-cough Rose cough-cough).

Joakim appeared out of sorts during the Washington Wizards series. He didn’t have the same ‘pep in his step’ that has characterized Noah during his Chicago Bulls career and was being dominated by the Wizards’ big men on both sides of the floor. Perhaps the post-series revelation that Noah was suffering from a knee injury provided closure for scores of Bulls fans who pondered why their beloved all-star center was under-performing to such an astonishing degree.

Joakim Noah looked out of sorts against the Washington Wizards during the playoffs last season. Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

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The exciting off-season of acquisitions has erased much of the coverage surrounding the status of Joakim Noah’s knee. It just seemed like a completely irrelevant issue when the Bulls were in an all-out battle with teams around the NBA trying to improve their roster to the best of their abilities. But with training camp finally arriving, Noah’s health has once again become relevant.

The outspoken all-star provided the media with a juicy tidbit of information regarding the status of his knee in the mandatory media session on Wednesday. When asked by reporters if his knee is 100% ready to go for the upcoming season, Noah had this short but revealing response to this relatively simple question.

"“I haven’t been 100% in years.”I’m always concerned [about his health].But I think that’s who I am as a player. I’m going through something a little bit different, but this is all part of the process so I’m just staying focused, doing what I got to do every day just trying to get better.”"

Wow! Lets slow down and think about that for a second! Joakim Noah was first-team All-NBA and Defensive Player of the Year during the 2013-2014 season, and he wasn’t 100%! Noah has proven himself a pretty honest self-critic over the words, so it only seems fair to take him at his word. Where is the ceiling on this guy? If he is fully healthy this season can he drop say 20-10-5?

For the Bulls to win a championship this season (and that is undoubtedly their goal), Joakim Noah has to remain healthy. Unfortunately, there is no use in him playing sore or injured during the regular season only to see the tires fall off when it matters in the postseason due to fatigue and/or injury. During his career, he has averaged 29.8 minutes per game. During the Tom Thibodeau era, the minutes per game averages have been even more extreme: Noah has averaged about 33 minutes per game over the past 4 seasons under the jurisdiction of Coach Thibodeau. Although these averages have never placed him in the top 10 among NBA players in minutes played, it can be argued that Noah gets more out of his minutes than many others because of his ‘pedal-to-the-medal’ style of play. While some players lackadaisically go through the motions, Joakim Noah goes full throttle 100% every moment he steps foot on the court. The accumulation of the large workload in terms of minutes played and the level of intensity that he plays with directly contributes to the string of injuries that Noah has sustained during his career.

The obvious solution for Noah’s injury woes would be to rest him more in an effort to save him for the playoffs. The front-court depth that the Bulls have accumulated affords the Bulls the opportunity to do just that. However, in order for minutes to be split properly, Thibodeau must diverge from his stubborn tendency to only play a select crop of players despite having a deep rotation.

The breakdown of minutes between the 2013-2014 big men is as follows:

Joakim Noah: 35.3 minutes per game

Taj Gibson: 28.7 minutes per game

Carlos Boozer: 28.2 minutes per game

Nazr Mohammed: 7.0 minutes per game

Here comes the shortest/simplest analysis in the history of the world: Gibson and Boozer split minutes but Joakim Noah had to play significantly longer because he lacked a viable backup center. Mohammed played spot minutes for the sole purpose of giving Noah a respite, but when it came down to it, Noah had to play extended minutes because Mohammed proved ineffective except for in extremely short spurts.

With Gasol and Mirotic coming in for the 2014 season, the  Bulls have the luxury of having the deepest front-court in the entire NBA. Although it goes against everything that Thibodeau stands for, rookie Nikola Mirotic has to be given significant playing time; somewhere in the ballpark of 10-15 minutes per game. With Mirotic consistently getting put into the fray, the Bulls have a solid four man (five man if you are crazy enough to believe that Nazzy will get playing time this season), rotation capable of providing injury prone veteran players like Noah and Gasol valuable rest periods.

Jul 18, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bulls new players Nikola Mirotic and Pau Gasol pose for photos after a press conference at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

A perfect minute scenario from my perspective would go something like this: Gibson and Noah around 30 minutes per game with Gasol (who has a history of knee problems of his own) slightly lower minutes wise. Mirotic comes in and eats up 10-15 minutes, and a best case scenario has Nazzy coming in as yet another minute eater capable of playing in maybe 5 minute spurts.

Although five less minutes for Noah hardly seems insignificant, in the long run it will pay incredible dividends. Noah has failed to stay healthy during the playoffs the last three season. In 2012 he severely sprained his ankle in a first round match-up against the 76ers. The following year he played through a foot injury, presumably plantar fasciitis, to lead the Bulls past the Nets in an epic seven game series. The same thing happened last season: Noah, forever the fighter, choosing to hobble around on one knee rather than quit on his teammates.

The trend of playoff injuries for Noah is disturbing. The only way that this will be fixed is if Tom Thibodeau swallows his pride and defies his precedent and fully utilizes his entire roster.

What do you guys think? How can the Bulls keep Noah healthy for an 82 game season and the playoffs? Please comment!