Bulls’ Joakim Noah: ‘We are right where we want to be’ (Video)
By Mark Carman
Optimistic Chicago Bulls leader Joakim Noah is “excited” for Game 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Losing a game at home where you had an 11-point lead with 42-seconds left in the third quarter, that would have put you up 3-1 in the series, is a major blow. The Chicago Bulls seem intent on keeping it as just another down moment in what has been an up-and-down, hard-to-figure-out season.
Joakim Noah’s struggles have been hard to figure out too, finishing in the top five of last year’s MVP voting, Noah has been especially brutal offensively in the series, shooting 7-of-28, or 25 percent. Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau believes Noah is “fine physically.” Noah does have 42 rebounds, evidence his body is not the problem, but more his confidence as he is clanking some of the ugliest lay ups you will ever see.
Despite the offensive numbers, Noah is still the Bulls vocal leader. He had an optimistic smile on his face after Game 4 and at practice the next day despite LeBron James’s game-winning fall away jumper.
“We are disappointed we lost the game yesterday. We had our opportunities. LeBron hit a great shot at the end of the game. But, we are right where we want to be and we are excited for Game 5,” Noah said.
Right where they want to be would have had the Bulls up 3-1, not facing the daunting task of having to win either Game 5 or 7 on the road to win the series. But Noah is not worried about his teammates feeling any hangover.
“Nothing needs to be said right now. Everyone knows what time of year it is. Everybody is excited. We watched the film, we will make our adjustments, go from there,” Noah said.
Noah’s optimism may be buoyed by the banged up Cavs. Kyrie Irving’s MRI revealed left knee tendinitis and a right foot strain. Irving is 5 for his last 23. With the Bulls able to focus more on James, he has yet to shoot over 45 percent in any game in the series, 18 for his last 55. Looking at those numbers, the Bulls should feel optimistic.
Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau may have summed it up best with the very basic take after reviewing the Game 4 film on what his team needs to do moving forward.
“We gotta make shots. We missed a lot of open shots and we missed layups. I thought late we didn’t run, we gotta make sure we run late. We got some good looks, we gotta make em,” Thibodeau said.
The numbers don’t lie. Nikola Mirotic 1-9, Mike Dunleavy 1-7, Noah 4-12. Plenty of room for major improvement.
Derrick Rose has been playing at a very high level: 61 points in Games 3 and 4. Rose needs to stay there with others playing better for Noah and the Bulls to maintain their optimism as the series heads to, what looks like, an epic conclusion.