Bulls to test Noah against Dallas, Orlando

Strength of schedule is often meaningless in preseason, but Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau is looking forward to this weekend, when the Bulls host Dallas on Friday and visit Orlando on Saturday. It's not far-fetched for those two teams to meet in the 2011 Finals.

“I like the teams that we're playing because of the shooting abilities of the bigs and the quickness of the smalls, Thibodeau said. “I think it puts a lot of pressure on your defense.

The first-year coach wants to see if the Bulls can keep opposing guards from driving into the lane and give Joakim Noah another chance to prove he can keep up defensively with a mobile power forward.

While Carlos Boozer is sidelined by a hand injury, Thibodeau wants to play Noah at power forward sometimes while rookie Omer Asik is at center. Noah took a turn guarding Toronto's Andrea Bargnani on Tuesday.

“A big test for us is to see whether Joakim can match up with the range-shooting fours (Dirk Nowitzki and Rashard Lewis), Thibodeau said. “Each game we're trying to get him playing more four so he is comfortable playing both positions.

Preseason positives

Coach Tom Thibodeau offered this evaluation of Bulls' preseason through four games.

“We've done some good things. I think we're playing at a good pace, I think we're playing unselfishly, he said. “At times, I think we're a little too much perimeter-oriented. I want us to continue to be inside-out, whether we're off the dribble or through post ups. Overall, offensively I think we've been pretty good. I think our discipline in covering the 3-point line has to be better.

Age brings craftiness

Joakim Noah talked about playing with a veteran center, such as 38-year-old Kurt Thomas.

“When you play with guys who aren't very athletic like Brad Miller and even Kurt, they have to be craftier, Noah said. “They're very tricky guys. Those are the guys you can really learn from. The older you are, the less energy you like to expend.

Bull horns

The NBA suspended Toronto's Joey Dorsey for a game for swinging at Brian Scalabrine with 7.3 seconds left in a 109-90 loss to the Bulls on Tuesday. … Kyle Korver beat out C.J. Watson for the players championship at the Bulls bowling party on Wednesday. … Ronnie Brewer hasn't had any recurrence of his hamstring injury and will likely see increased minutes this weekend. “We'd like him to get his timing and the only way for him to do that is by playing, coach Tom Thibodeau said.