Before Injury, Noah Had All-Star Caliber Season
The Bulls have potentially lost Joakim Noah for up to ten weeks. The Bulls' center will have surgery to repair an injured right hand. The loss of Noah will force other players like Omer Asik and Taj Gibson to pickup where Noah left off.
And that's no easy task when you consider that Noah was one of two NBA players averaging a double-double this season, and was working towards an All-Star appearance.
"I think he was headed that way pretty definitively," the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson said on the Mully and Hanley Show, when asked Noah's All-Star potential. "But I was reminded by a couple of emails that Al Horford is having a pretty good season too."
LISTEN: K.C. Johnson On The Mully And Hanley Show
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But the thing that might have separated Noah from Horford was the success of the Bulls. They've won seven straight games, as of today, and are beginning to play like the title contender many think that they are.
"I think ultimately what it comes down to is some team success," Johnson said. "And that dictates a lot of the reserve picks by the coaches. And so if the Bulls had kept rolling like they have been, he certainly had a good chance."
"I know [the All-Star game] is the last thing on his mind," Johnson said. "Joakim is all about team, more than individual. But it certainly would have been good for the franchise to have two guys out there in L.A. on February 20th."
