Bulls' Noah to miss this match with Garnett

Joakim Noah isn't expected to play Wednesday when the Bulls host Brooklyn at the United Center, but he is at the center of most current storylines.

The last time the Bulls played the Nets (Nov. 30 in Brooklyn), a video clip went viral of Kevin Garnett pretending to bite Noah's arm. Not sure if "playfully" is the right word to describe it, but Garnett maintained that if he wanted to actually bite Noah, he would have.

Asked if it would be awkward playing against Garnett again, Noah laughed.

"Nah. He was my favorite player growing up," Noah said Tuesday at the Advocate Center. "It's always easy to get up for that game playing against him. He's a heck of a competitor. When he's gone, I'm going to miss playing on him."

Noah missed the last two days of practice to rest his sprained right ankle, which he aggravated against Charlotte on Dec. 3. Noah came back to play 32 minutes against the Hornets that same night and logged 33 minutes in Friday's loss to Golden State.

The Bulls may see this as a chance to get Noah healthier before Portland visits Friday. Brooklyn is expected to be without center Brook Lopez (back) and shooting guard Joe Johnson (stomach virus). For the Bulls, Taj Gibson returned from an ankle injury against the Warriors and Nikola Mirotic has played well lately.

"I'm feeling all right," Noah said. "My ankle is still bothering me a little bit, so I have to be smart. You know it's a long season, and I'm taking it day by day."

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau is a big supporter of Garnett, with good reason. Thibodeau was an assistant in Boston when the Celtics won the 2008 NBA title behind Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

It's possible this could be Garnett's last season. At 38, he's still averaging 7.5 points and 8.3 rebounds in part-time minutes.

"All I know is Kevin tries to win, by any means necessary," Thibodeau said. "He's had a remarkable career. He's one of the great competitors in the history of the league. I have great respect for what he has done.

"He's one of the great practice guys. He drives a team. It's interesting, I talked to (Nets center) Mason Plumlee this summer about him. He hasn't changed one bit. That type of leadership, that's how you win big in this league."

Another topic that lingers is Derrick Rose's pregame wardrobe choice Saturday. Several Nets and Cavaliers players copied Rose's "I can't breathe" T-shirt before Monday's game in Brooklyn, including Garnett, Deron Williams, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving.

"It's great. I think it's great," Noah said. "Guys are taking a serious stand. What happened was very, very sad and touched a lot of people. I think it's great for guys to come out and make statements like that."

The "I can't breathe" slogan is a reference to Eric Garner, a New York man who died when put in a chokehold by a police officer during an arrest. According to video of the arrest, Garner's last words were "I can't breathe."

"I think it's important for guys to step up and speak their minds," Noah said. "Will I do it? Maybe, we'll see. I mean, I speak my mind. I have no problem with that."

The Bulls have ruled forward Doug McDermott out for Wednesday's game with a lingering right-knee injury. It sounds as though McDermott might focus on rehab for the foreseeable future.

With a dreary 2-5 record at home, the Bulls also are eager for Derrick Rose to get going again. He has had a slow restart since coming back from a left-hamstring strain. Over the last five games, Rose is averaging 15.4 points but shooting just 37 percent from the field.

He seems to be settling for the 3-point shot too often, averaging 7.6 attempts per game over the last five, while connecting on just 28.9 percent.

"I know when he has played well this year, he's been in attack mode," Thibodeau said. "The last two days in practice, he has been terrific. Those are all great signs. I just want him to keep building, get better day by day.

"Concentrate on improvement, don't overthink it. Get out there and play, attack, be aggressive."

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