Report: Bulls considering starting Joakim Noah over Nikola Mirotic
The experiment of having Joakim Noah come off the bench for the Chicago Bulls may soon be coming to an end.
The Chicago Bulls defense and rebounding has been poor to start the season, and head coach Fred Hoiberg is thinking of putting Joakim Noah back in the starting lineup to help with those issues.
Hoiberg shook things up to start the season by sending Noah to the bench and replacing him with second year player Nikola Mirotic. Mirotic’s ability to shoot and spread the floor was supposed to help the Bulls on the offensive end. He has gotten off to a slow start however and hasn’t been playing up to his standards.
His defense has been putrid as well and he has become a liability on the defensive end for the Bulls.
Following Monday’s shoot around ahead of their game against the 76ers, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune summarized some points that Hoiberg discussed in his pregame interview, and pointed out that Noah, not Mirotic, was working with the first team unit.
Hoiberg said no lineup changes. But Noah worked with starters at shootaround. Mirotic played coy when asked if he's coming off bench.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) November 9, 2015
The Bulls players are still trying to adjust to Hoiberg’s up-tempo style of play, but can’t forget about their defensive roots. Defense wins championships and currently the Bulls defense is far from elite status.
Bringing Noah back into the starting lineup would be a good move for the Bulls as he is the heart and soul of the team, and his high spirit has a positive affect on his teammates.
The Bulls are currently 4-3 and have lost three of their last five games.