Noah vs. Bobcats' Wallace?

After Joakim Noah's success guarding Atlanta's Josh Smith on Tuesday, Bulls coach Scott Skiles suggested the rookie big man could get more opportunities to defend small forwards.

During the second quarter when Noah was on the floor, the 6-foot-9 Smith shot 0-for-8 from the field, with 4 points at the foul line.

"We thought when we drafted him that he'd be able to play some (small forwards)," Skiles said. "He's done it in practice. He did an outstanding job the other night.

"We haven't had a chance to do it very much because other teams haven't gone small as much as they have in the past. It's an option, even with some of the better threes. If we're getting in trouble, we can put some length on them."

The Bulls might have a great opportunity to give Noah's defense another try. Two of the next three games are against Charlotte and 6-9 forward Gerald Wallace, who lit up the Bulls for 32 points once last season while hitting 12 of 20 shots.

Skiles' initial reaction was that Wallace gets some of his points in transition and it would be tough to ask Noah to chase him downcourt.

"Sometimes if you put a bigger guy on him, they lose track of him. They're not accustomed to it," Skiles said. "We'll have to see how the game goes. I'm not afraid of it. Joakim earned his looks on guys like that the other night."

Coach meets with Hinrich: Coach Scott Skiles said he spoke to Kirk Hinrich before Thursday's practice to see how the struggling point guard is coping with his slow start.

"I didn't sense he was in any sort of panic or anything like that," Skiles said. "He and I kind of agreed he's going to come out of it, and when he does it's probably going to be in a big way, and it's probably going to be for a long time. It's just a matter of staying with it.

"He's made a lot of good plays during this stretch that have kind of gotten lost because we miss the shots. Kirk could have a game where he went, say, 3-for-11 and still got 12 assists or something and really helped us win. All the players fit together and yet there's no question every team looks to its point guard for steady play and he's capable of doing that."

Duhon makes donation: Chris Duhon announced he'll make a personal donation of $100,000 to construct new basketball courts in New Orleans and his hometown of Slidell, La. More information about Duhon's Stand Tall Foundation can be found at www.chrisduhon21.com.