Thibodeau confident Noah will find his game
Coming off a first-team all-NBA performance last year, Joakim Noah hasn't come close to matching his old numbers.
Overall this season, he's averaging 7.8 points and 9.6 rebounds, playing slightly fewer minutes than he did last year, when he averaged 12.6 points and 11.3 boards per game.
So far in January, he's down to 4.9 points and 8.9 rebounds. The low numbers suggest he may still be struggling to recover fully from off-season arthroscopic knee surgery.
Noah wouldn't comment on that subject Tuesday, other than to say he's progressively getting better.
"It's a work in progress," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We knew it would be bumpy at the start because of the surgery. And then Jo's game is unique. Really, a lot of it is timing, his passing at the elbow, his ability to put it on the floor, drive by people. The more he's out there the better it's going to be.
"The thing I do like is that if you do look at his rebounding per minute, his reaction to the ball is very good. I like that. That's what leads me to believe that the rest will come around."
Thibodeau was asked if the Bulls considered a two-week layoff for Noah, similar to what Cleveland is doing with LeBron James.
"There have been a lot of discussions," Thibodeau said. "The plan initially was restricting his minutes and what he was doing in practice and then stuff like that. But we'll see. I think he'll be fine."
Snell doing swell:
The Bulls used a surprising starting lineup on Monday against Orlando, going with Tony Snell at small forward in place of Mike Dunleavy. Previously this season, whenever the Bulls were missing a guard or small forward, coach Tom Thibodeau started Kirk Hinrich when he was healthy.
"I like the way Tony's playing," Thibodeau said Tuesday. "He's playing really good defense, he's making hustle plays, he's shooting when he should shoot, he's passing when he should pass. I want him to keep doing the things he's been doing."
With the Bulls trailing the Magic by 8 at halftime, Thibodeau switched course and started Hinrich instead of Snell. The results weren't much different, though. The Bulls were outscored 30-23 in the third quarter.
Bull horns:
Joakim Noah was asked Tuesday to explain coach Tom Thibodeau's postgame circle reference, "Either you're in the circle, or you're out of the circle. You want to be in, let's go." Noah's response: "I don't know what to say. Ask him. I didn't say that, he said that." … The Bulls' official injury report included Taj Gibson (left thumb) and Noah (left hand) as probable. Mike Dunleavy still hasn't returned to practice with a right ankle injury. Doug McDermott has been practicing, but it's not clear when he'll be ready for game action after having arthroscopic knee surgery on Dec. 13.