Noah discovers NBA fans differ from college fans

For the record, when fans at the United Center chanted, "Kobe, Kobe!" toward the end of the Bulls' opening-night loss to Philadelphia, it wasn't well-coordinated and lasted about 30 seconds.

On Monday, though, rookie Joakim Noah became the first Bulls player to officially voice a complaint.

"We might not have played well, but we played hard as a team," Noah said following practice at the Berto Center. "For some of the fans to go and talk about Kobe, screaming 'Kobe!' … to me, that was like kind of different, because they wouldn't do that in college."

Of course they wouldn't do that at Florida. No trades are allowed in college, and the Gators won two national championships with Noah in uniform. Unhappy home fans are probably something Noah has not seen often in his career.

"I would rather be in a place where there are expectations than a place where people expect you to lose or don't really care," he added. "But at the same time, I think the expectations we should have are the expectations we have and not the expectations others have.

"A lot of people are talking right now, a lot of people are saying things about this team. But it's just adversity, and I think it's going to make us stronger in the end."

Skiles says relax: Following a day of rest, the Bulls got back to the business of trying to figure out why they've opened the season with 3 straight losses.

"The players and their faces look tight, distracted, I don't know what the word is," coach Scott Skiles said. "So you could say we need to loosen up a little bit. But if you're an objective observer and look at us offensively, we look too loose with our ballhandling and passing.

"That's what we talked about (Monday) morning. We're in that zone where we've been before, where we need to relax and play, but at the same time tighten up our execution. That's when we're really good. So far we haven't hit that."

Slow starts are nothing new for the Bulls, but the players expected better this year. Guard Kirk Hinrich described his disappointment following Monday's practice.

"The frustration has built up, obviously," he said. "I think everybody on this team is frustrated right now. It's just no fun when you're losing. You don't want to go out in public. I've had trouble sleeping.

"As a group, it's important that we just play with a lot more composure and a lot more poise, and hopefully we'll have a lot more solid effort."

Frequent fouler rewards: Kirk Hinrich received recognition for his strong defense last season when he was voted second-team all-defense by NBA coaches. However, that honor hasn't prevented him from finding foul trouble in all three games this season.

"We've sort of accepted the fact that fouling is part of his game," Scott Skiles said. "When you're around somebody for five years now, you can't have the same conversation every single day. It's impossible. He'll work himself out of it. He always has. When he does, he'll be very good again."

Tonight's tipoff

Bulls vs. Los Angeles Clippers at the United Center

When: 7:30 p.m.

TV: Comcast SportsNet

Radio: WMVP 1000-AM

Update: Elton Brand is out with a torn Achilles' tendon and point guard Shaun Livingston may miss the entire season with a knee injury, yet the Clippers are off to a 2-0 start and averaging 117.5 points per game. But their two opponents, Golden State and Seattle, are both 0-3. The Bulls have lost three straight home games in the series and are 2-12 against the Clippers since the 2000-01 season.

Players to watch: Onetime Bull Tim Thomas is averaging 20 points and has hit 7 of 13 shots from 3-point range. Chicago native Corey Maggette leads the Clippers at 21.5 ppg.

Next: Detroit Pistons at the United Center, Thursday