Bulls' Noah can't explain his slow start

Tom Thibodeau isn't the most colorful speaker among NBA head coaches.

He does a nice job dealing with the media, but he won't max out the digital recorders like, say, Stan Van Gundy or Doc Rivers.

Thibodeau is quick to defend his players, though.

In Tuesday's 118-97 win over Phoenix, Carlos Boozer scored 31 points, while Joakim Noah posted 13 points and 12 rebounds.

After the game, Thibodeau was asked about Boozer and Noah playing well together, which they haven't always done.

“In your eyes,” Thibodeau replied. “I think they do fine. The record speaks for itself. I think they played well. They played high energy; the ball was moving. They were playmaking. They're fine.”

The Bulls coach went out of his way to praise Noah after beating the Suns, but there is no dodging the fact that Noah's play has been the biggest mystery so far this season.

Even after producing his second double-double in the last four games, Noah is averaging 7.1 points and 8.2 rebounds, while shooting 41.2 percent from the field.

Last season after 16 games, Noah averaged 15.6 points, 12.4 rebounds and shot well above 50 percent.

In the locker room Tuesday, Noah admitted he's just as baffled by his slow start as everyone else.

“I worked really hard this off-season,” he said. “At the end of the day, I feel like mentally, I have to be … I don't know.

“I feel like our team, we have a lot of depth, but it's on me to start the game and bring better energy. I feel like I just have to do a better job. I really don't know what to say.”

Of those first 16 games last season, Boozer was sidelined for all but one because of a broken right hand, which is where some of the Noah-Boozer lack of chemistry complaints first started.

But the poor chemistry argument doesn't make sense. The two players put up good numbers against Phoenix while playing low minutes, because the score was so lopsided.

Boozer's presence should have no impact on Noah running the fastbreak, playing his usual energetic defense or successfully tipping in an offensive rebound.

“I worked harder than I ever worked this off-season,” Noah added, “but I'm confident that I'll do better.”

Here's another fact about the start of last season: The Bulls were 9-7 after 16 games. This year they are 13-3, despite some injuries and a road-heavy schedule.

With a short training camp and just two preseason games, maybe it will simply take a little time for Noah to get comfortable on the court. He looked more like his old self against the Suns.

Having veteran Richard Hamilton on the floor also seems to create more open shots.

The sample size is small, but the Bulls have averaged 103 points in the six games Hamilton played and 90.3 points in the 10 games he sat out with a groin injury.

Another question facing the Bulls is how long should Derrick Rose sit out to rest a nagging left-toe injury?

Based on recent history, the team tends to play it safe with injuries like this and take the time to get it healed, with the hope it won't be a lingering problem.

So don't be surprised if Rose skips the weekend games against Cleveland and Charlotte. Beyond that the Bulls have a more normal three-game week in store, all at home.

mmcgraw@dailyherald.com