Former Chicago Bulls big man Joakim Noah had himself a solid scrimmage debut with the Clippers in a win over the Orlando Magic.
On July 22, the NBA started its season back up to some degree in the bubble plan at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, FL. On Wednesday afternoon/evening, the NBA’s scrimmages started up ahead of the first planned games for the restart, on July 30. And there were a few prominent former members of the Chicago Bulls in action on Wednesday. Among those were the Miami Heat star small forward Jimmy Butler and Los Angeles Clippers recently signed veteran big man Joakim Noah.
”Jimmy G. Buckets” was in action with the Heat against the Sacramento Kings in their first scrimmage. Butler and the Heat got the best of the Kings in the end. And Noah was in action with the Clippers against the Orlando Magic. Noah and the Clippers bested the Magic by a nine-point margin.
Although there wasn’t all that much that Noah contributed for the Clippers in terms of scoring, he did have an all-around productive debut for the restart. Noah did finish up with just four points in his debut on 2-of-4 shooting from the field. But he also added three assists and five rebounds (two of which were offensive boards), with no turnovers. He did all that in just 15 minutes on the floor.
What’s clear is that Noah could become a very solid free agent signing for the Clippers to help fill out the frontcourt rotation down the stretch during the restart. Noah deserved to land a contract sooner than he did, but at least he’s got a shot to win his first career NBA Championship this year. The Clippers are definitely one of the top contenders to win the title this season.
If Noah can give the Clippers that type of efficiency in the remaining portion of their regular season schedule and throughout the playoff run, he’ll be a very valuable part of the bench. The Clippers aren’t the deepest in their frontcourt rotation, so signing Noah looks like a good move right now.
This is the 13th year for Noah in his NBA journey. He spent most of it (nine seasons) with the Bulls, and also had more brief stints with the New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies. He’s a two-time NBA All-Star selection, three-time All-Defensive Team selection, one-time All-NBA, and the 2013-14 Defensive Player of the Year award winner. The Clippers got a good find here, and Noah having a contender to play for gives Bulls fans a former player to root for the rest of the way.