The Bernstein Brief: Knock It Off, Joakim
By Dan Bernstein--
CBSChicago.com senior columnist
(CBS) Being the heel isn't cute when you can't play effectively enough to back it up.
Bulls big man Joakim Noah and Cleveland already have a history, dating back to a time when he could affect games with his ability to fly around the floor, defend high screen-rolls and the rim on the same possession, attack rebounds and hit the occasional shot.
Now a bum knee has rendered him some fraction of that player, but he still has time to make news doing other things outside the action. On Wednesday, he had eventful interaction that included a slight push of a fan and reportedly mouthed off to Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones.
That doesn't help anything, now, and it's a bad look for a team that admits to lapses in effort, even in these playoffs. All year the confounding Bulls have interspersed victories with clunkers, and it would be nice if their supposed emotional leader and one-time All-NBA center could make more noise on the court than off it.
Dan Bernstein is a co-host of 670 The Score's "Boers and Bernstein Show" in afternoon drive. Follow him on Twitter @dan_bernstein and read more of his columns here.