Bulls' Noah to have pin removed from thumb

The Bulls should be a step closer to full health on Tuesday. That's when center Joakim Noah will have a pin removed from his injured right thumb, allowing him to begin rehabilitation.

Noah tore a ligament in the thumb Nov. 27, then had surgery Dec. 16. He's not expected back until after the Feb. 20 All-Star Game, but Noah didn't want to estimate his return date.

“Whatever the doctor tells me I can do, I'll do,” Noah said. “I feel pretty strong in my hand right now. But obviously there's a pin in there, so it's not very mobile. It's kind of stiff, so just trying to get the mobility back. I don't have any pain or anything.”

Noah said he'd prefer to join the team when it leaves for an 11-day West Coast road trip next week.

“I'm happy we're playing pretty good basketball,” he said. “We're winning some games. I'm just excited to see how good we can be.”

Defensive geniuses:

When he coached the Bulls a few years back, Scott Skiles turned around the defense with help from assistant coach Ron Adams. After a brief detour in Oklahoma City, Adams is back with the Bulls assisting Tom Thibodeau, and the team leads in league in defensive field-goal percentage.

“One of the keys to me is Derrick Rose has become a better defender and in large part because he must be willing to listen and learn,” Skiles said before the game. “They're good teachers there.

“It's a very good defensive team now and with the offensive weapons they have, it's a legitimate club. They're running away with the (Central) division. If anybody's going to stay with them, better start pretty quick. They're having a great year.”

A Buck short:

The Bucks were one of the NBA's biggest surprises last season, finishing 10 games above .500. During the summer, they added Corey Maggette and Drew Gooden, then re-signed ex-Bulls shooting guard John Salmons to a long-term deal.

But the results have been miserable. Point guard Brandon Jennings missed his 17th game with a broken foot Monday. Salmons (hip) and Gooden (plantar fasciitis) also sat out against the Bulls.

“We've had a lot of games missed due to injury, but there's always more to it than that,” Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles said. “Even with the injuries, we've been right there with four minutes to go in a ton of games and just not been able to finish it off.

“It would be very easy to say it's the injuries if we were just coming out and so undermanned we're getting blown out all over the place. That hasn't happened. We've been right there and had plenty of chances. We've got to seize those moments a little bit better and take advantage of them more.”

The Bucks (16-26) rank last in the NBA in both points per game (91.2) and field-goal percentage (.422).