Noah talks about heavy workload
Joakim Noah treated the line as a joke, but it sounded like a cry for help.
After playing 41 minutes in Saturday's win over Brooklyn, on the heels of a 45-minute outing against Philadelphia and with a trip to Indiana looming on Sunday, Noah was asked about dealing with such a heavy workload.
“It's not really right after the game, but it's the next morning that's usually the roughest,” Noah said after the 96-85 win over the Nets. “We have a great coach, but he doesn't understand the whole rest thing yet.”
At this point, Noah was laughing, for accuracy's sake.
“It's all good,” he added. “We all want to win, so it's good.”
When this topic comes up, coach Tom Thibodeau usually says young players can play big minutes. It was a little curious, though, when he brought back Noah with 6:35 remaining and the Bulls leading the Nets by 19 points.
“I saw the way the game was going,” Thibodeau said. “If you're jogging back — they've got a lot of 3-point shooting on the floor — a 10-point lead can dissipate in a minute. We were in the penalty and were recklessly fouling. We've got to do better.”
Bulls sign Amundson:An extra big man arrived Saturday when the Bulls signed Lou Amundson to a 10-day contract, six days after losing Taj Gibson to a sprained left knee.The 6-foot-9 Amundson, 30, is playing for his seventh team in seven NBA seasons, but he's earned respect for being a high-energy reserve. He was released by Minnesota on Feb. 8.#8220;You have to be around me enough and see me play day in and day out to really appreciate what I bring to the team,#8221; he said before the game. #8220;I do work hard. I think they can appreciate that.#8221;Amundson was in demand. There were reports of him being pursued by Miami, Boston and New York. After Amundson chose the Bulls, Miami signed veteran Juwan Howard.#8220;I think just the fact that it was a top team,#8221; said Amundson, who is represented by Chicago-based agent Mark Bartelstein. #8220;They're always a contender in the East and being part of a good team is important to me. I'm really honored to be part of this team. Obviously it's a great scene here right now, great history, some really good players and great coaching staff.#8221;Despite the Bulls holding a sizable lead throughout the second half Saturday against the Nets, Amundson did not see any action.Hamilton still out:Shooting guard Richard Hamilton missed his second game with lower back spasms. Coach Tom Thibodeau wasn't sure if Hamilton would make the trip to Indiana on Sunday.With Marco Belinelli starting, Daequan Cook filled in as a backup for seven minutes. Thibodeau also used Kirk Hinrich and Nate Robinson together at times.