Elation, sadness for rookie Noah

The morning after a slightly new era of Bulls basketball began with rousing success, rookie center Joakim Noah tried to sort out his conflicting emotions.

He talked about the elation of hearing his name announced as part of the starting lineup at the United Center, while at the same time feeling the sadness of seeing three respected teammates disappear suddenly.

Noah and fellow rookie Demetris Nichols were waiting to depart for an appearance at the Field Museum when it became obvious at the Berto Center that a major trade was going down Thursday afternoon.

The top reason listed by general manager John Paxson for trading Ben Wallace and Joe Smith to Cleveland was to give Noah and Tyrus Thomas more playing time for the remainder of the season. Thomas and Noah combined for 32 points, 21 rebounds and 5 blocks in Friday's 135-121 victory over Denver.

"It's definitely an opportunity, definitely a lot more minutes out there for the younger guys," Noah said following Saturday's short practice. "It's still pretty weird not to have our vets out there.

"In my four or five months here so far, I feel like I learned a lot from Joe and Body (Wallace) and Griff (Adrian Griffin, who went to Seattle)."

Wallace and Noah had some well-publicized negative moments this season, most notably when Wallace and Griffin led a movement to recommend an extra game suspension after Noah's verbal altercation with assistant coach Ron Adams in January.

But it was obvious that the two had become close. A team source said Wallace apologized to Noah following a verbal confrontation in the locker room Jan. 15 at Orlando. When asked about the story, Wallace claimed he never apologizes for anything.

Two weeks later, the Bulls hosted Minnesota and Noah went out of his way to introduce his former Florida teammate Corey Brewer to Wallace.

"Those guys are definitely going to be missed," Noah said of the three traded veterans. "Can you imagine when you have Ben Wallace telling you stories? He's been in the league so long and has so many great stories.

"Listening to his stories on the plane and hearing his experiences, those are definitely things that are going to be missed."

Unlike Noah, Thomas was reluctant to share his feelings about the trade.

"I've got to be ready to step up. But as far as the trade, it's business," he said.

Noah admitted he's still getting used to the NBA experience. On Friday, he played against two of his childhood heroes, former Knick Marcus Camby and former Net Kenyon Martin.

"I used to go to (Madison Square) Garden and watch Marcus Camby play," said Noah, who spent most of his teenage years living in Manhattan. "He was actually my favorite player. I think I had his jersey."

Noah's next challenge will be to guard 7-foot-6 Yao Ming tonight when the Bulls visit Houston, which happens to be riding an 11-game winning streak. The 6-11 Noah played just 13 minutes in the Bulls' loss to the Rockets on Dec. 22.

"Thabo (Sefolosha) actually shook my hand this morning and said, 'Regardless of what happens against Yao, you'll still be my dude,' " Noah said. "That was pretty nice of him.

"I'm just going to play him as hard as I can. Try to run as hard as I can, try to run him down the court as much as I can. He's probably the best big man in the game right now -- at his height, with his touch.

"I just try to bother him as much as I can and try to give him nothing easy. He's definitely a tough assignment."

Tonight's tipoff

Bulls vs. Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center, 7 p.m.

TV: Comcast SportsNet, ESPN

Radio: WMVP 1000-AM

Update: The Rockets handled New Orleans 100-80 on the road Friday to stretch their winning streak to 11 games. Yao Ming (22.2 ppg, 10.9 rpg) and Tracy McGrady (21.4 ppg. 5.6 apg) remain the key figures, while rookie forward Carl Landry from Purdue has become a contributor off the bench in recent weeks.

Series history: The Bulls have lost nine of the last 10 against Houston, including a 116-98 thumping at the United Center on Dec. 22, Scott Skiles' last game as head coach.

Next: Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center, 7:30 p.m. Monday

-- Mike McGraw