Bulls Bracing For Joakim Noah To Be Out For Extended Period
By Cody Westerulnd--
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The locker room mood was as somber as could be, the Bulls facing another unwanted reality in a rocky season after an 83-77 loss to the Mavericks on Friday night at the United Center.
Reserve center Joakim Noah, so long the heart and soul of this franchise and who's endured amid a tough season in which he's handled a reduced role with professionalism, is likely going to be out an extended period of time. The gruesome scene indicated as much.
With 9:41 left in the second quarter, Noah got his left arm tangled up with Mavericks center JaVale McGee while battling for a rebound, and it twisted awkwardly. Noah immediately grabbed his left shoulder and ran to the locker room in extreme pain, bone pressing against the skin to form what looked like a mountain ridge as it popped out of joint.
Noah was diagnosed with a dislocated left shoulder, the same one he sprained on Dec. 21. That injury cost Noah nine games and three weeks.
There was no immediate word on the severity this time. Noah will have an MRI on Saturday, coach Fred Hoiberg said, and all involved are bracing for it to be far more serious with an extended absence looming.
It's as if they know what's coming, even if they don't know it yet.
"You kind of got flashbacks to when Derrick got hurt," forward Taj Gibson said, referencing point guard Derrick Rose suffering serious knee injuries in April 2012 and November 2013. "You don't want to see your man go down like that. It's frustrating."
While injuries certainly differ from person to person, this is notable context: Cavaliers power forward Kevin Love dislocated his left shoulder in the playoffs last spring, underwent surgery and didn't return to five-on-five activity for five months. If surgery is needed for Noah, a similar timetable would keep him out the remainder of the regular season and likely the playoffs too.
"It hurt, it hurt," Rose said of seeing Noah get injured. "How hard he works, how hard he wants to be on the court, how much he means to this team. It's devastating, but guys have to come in and make sure they're ready."
When you get past the human side of this – which is awful, given how hard Noah's worked in a contract year and the symbiotic relationship he and Bulls fans have in feeding off each other – there are basketball implications too.
Short term, the Bulls are without a catalyst on the second unit and not as deep. This means rookie Bobby Portis will get more playing time after it looked like, entering Friday, that he may be the fifth guy in a four-player big man rotation. Consistent minutes for Portis carries promise, but there's less flexibility and versatility for Hoiberg in his lineup choices now.
There are also ramifications regarding the Feb. 18 trade deadline. The Bulls have been gauging interest on Noah, Pau Gasol and Taj Gibson, according to reports. Now a whole new dynamic comes into play, because Noah seemingly has no trade value and to move another big man would leave the Bulls depleted in the frontcourt.
Noah, who's averaging 4.3 points and 8.8 rebounds, understandably left the locker room without speaking with reporters. Teammate Jimmy Butler spoke to him briefly and called Noah's mood "down."
"It's tough to lose a guy like Jo," Jimmy Butler said. "He does so much for us. Outside of basketball, I hate to see that happen to him personally."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
