Joakim Noah is set to return to the Chicago Bulls’ rotation any day now (possibly Monday night). What are the plans for the rotation when that happens?
It’s bad enough the Chicago Bulls lost to the Brooklyn Nets on Dec. 21 at home.
It’s even worse when Joakim Noah’s shoulder seemingly came out of its socket and forced him to miss nine straight games until this point.
But, according to Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg, Noah could return to action as soon as Monday night at home against the Washington Wizards.
Hoiberg said Noah will get contact work in later today and tomorrow and how he reacts determines if he plays vs. Wiz.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 10, 2016
Despite Noah’s absence, the Bulls have seemed to find their stride as of late, winning seven of the nine games Noah has missed since the injury.
“I feel good. I was happy I got back out there, do some one-on-one. I’m excited to get back on the court,” Noah said after going through one-on-one contact drills with Bobby Portis and Cameron Bairstow on Sunday, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune.
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Outside of a setback against a hot-shooting Atlanta Hawks bunch this past Saturday and a loss in the SEGABABA to the Dallas Mavericks, the Bulls have looked real sharp in this recent nine-game span.
But, here’s where things get hard.
Taj Gibson has filled the starting power forward role well on both ends of the floor, Pau Gasol is averaging 16.5 points per contest and both Portis and Nikola Mirotic are going to need minutes up front for energy and spacing purposes.
After the Bulls kicked off 2016 with a blowout win over the New York Knicks at home, Hoiberg was asked about what the rotation would look like after Noah’s return to action.
“I don’t know,” Hoiberg said with a bit of laughter, per ESPN Chicago’s Nick Friedell. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
Well, you’re here.
A couple notes to take in mind:
- Nikola Mirotic is not—and I repeat—not a small forward.
Bulls numbers w/ Mirotic at the 3 (where he's started the last 10 games) vs. the 4: pic.twitter.com/Pn92sdEMbb
— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) January 10, 2016
- Hoiberg has already made it clear that Bobby Portis is free.
"“We’re going to continue to find minutes for Bobby, no doubt about it. He’s playing too well. He’s playing with so much confidence. He rebounds the ball. He’s playing with a toughness and a swagger. That’s what you want. And again, we’ve talked all along – Bobby’s not going to back down from anybody.”-Fred Hoiberg on Jan. 1 (via Cody Westerlund, CBS Chicago)"
- The Pau Gasol-Joakim Noah experiment has only gone on for 125 minutes this season up front for the Bulls. (Note: It didn’t go well last season.)
- There’s also the thought of the Bulls wanting to possibly free up their front court rotation via trade.
The Bulls are right back to square one when it comes to their rotation up front. They’re deep, but basically too deep. Mike Dunleavy is “at least a month away”, according to Hoiberg, and there’s seemingly been no answers provided to the small forward vacancy from either Doug McDermott or Tony Snell.
Next: Has Bobby Portis Made Trading a Viable Option for the Bulls?
Both have shown flashes throughout the year, but can either be long-term options? It’s not looking like it.
Maybe the whole “the Bulls are in the market for a wing” talk that’s been going on for roughly five years might become more than just talk.