The Bulls' Joakim Noah drives to the basket past the Celtics' Paul Pierce, right, and Brian Scalabrine during the third overtime of Game 6 of their first-round playoff series in 2009 in Chicago. The Bulls won 128-127.
Rewind for a second to what many consider the greatest playoff series in NBA history. The first round of the 2008-09 playoffs saw the newly formed Boston Three Party of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce get taken to seven games by the 7th-seeded Bulls.
Although Chicago fell short in that final game, it sparked the resurgence of the Bulls, a team that is now 10-2 and owns the best record in the East. Sure, Derrick Rose gave the Celtics fits in that classic series, but second-year player Joakim Noah nearly left the once title-starved stars in Boston without the one ring they now possess.
Noah’s unrelenting energy, defense, hustle, timely scores and presence in the paint led many to consider Noah the second-best center in the Eastern Conference last season. For whatever reason, he simply isn’t the same player out of the gates this year.
Through 12 games, he’s only averaging 7.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, one block and 25.8 minutes (many of which haven’t come in the fourth quarter). At this point last season, he was averaging 15.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 38.2 minutes per game.
To make matters worse, Noah strained his left thumb in the second quarter of Wednesday night’s 78-64 win over the Wizards. (He had his right one surgically repaired last season). He’s listed as day-to-day.
If he’s healthy and at his best, Noah is a game-changer. His intangibles make him an invaluable center to any aspiring championship team, and the Bulls certainly fall into that category. After all, there may only be one team in the East that can prevent the Heat from making the NBA Finals for a second straight season. That team is Rose and his Bulls. However, Noah will prove to be just as valuable as the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player once the playoffs begin. For this core group of Bulls players, their rise and fall may both hinge on Noah.
By the way, Chicago visits Boston on Friday.
Al Horford: The Hawks lost their All-Star center for maybe the rest of the regular season. Horford tore his left pectoral muscle in the first quarter of Atlanta’s 96-84 loss to Indiana on Wednesday. Horford is expected to miss 3-4 months with the injury, and that doesn’t bode well for the Hawks. That means the less-than-spectacular duo of Zaza Pachulia and Ivan Johnson will have to play more minutes in his place. Horford was averaging 12.4 points and 7 rebounds before the injury. He may not be able to help Atlanta in the playoffs either, because don’t be surprised if the Hawks are in danger of missing the playoffs in the deep Eastern Conference.
Corey Brewer: Having his best game yet with his new team, Brewer notched 19 points in just 16 minutes of play in a 123-115 win over the Nets. Brewer had a whopping 17 points in the second quarter alone, going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc as well. Although coveted more for his defense, Brewer has at times provided an offensive spark off the bench for a ridiculously deep Denver team. Brewer’s style of play should endear him to coach George Karl, who’s known for loving players who hustle on both ends of the floor.
“I thought Corey Brewer did a great job of getting us those easy baskets,” Karl told The Associated Press. “He’s probably our best runner, probably our best cutter. If he keeps playing like he played tonight, he might have to (play) on a more consistent basis.”
Chandler Parsons: If you haven’t seen Parsons’ put-back dunk over Blake Griffin, it’s worth checking out. Parsons’ minutes fluctuated to begin the season, but he’s started the last three games at small forward for the Rockets, having played 30-plus minutes in each of those contests. He had his best game of the year in an 82-70 win over the Bobcats on Tuesday, scoring a team-high 20 points to go with seven rebounds (three offensive) and also went 2-of-4 from 3-point range. If anything, Parsons is proving that he can fill up the stat sheet similar to how he did at Florida. Most importantly, Parsons is answering the bell as a rebounder after many questioned whether his impact on the offensive and defensive glass would translate to the pros. He’s averaging 7.2 points and five rebounds now, but those numbers should increase as he gets accustomed to his starting role.
David Lee: They call him the double-double machine, and that hasn’t changed this season. The Warriors’ power forward is averaging a double-double with 17 points and 10.3 rebounds through eight games. He was forced to miss a game against the Suns on Jan. 2 after he was hospitalized with an undisclosed illness that was considered to be serious. However, that hasn’t stopped him from being his typical, efficient self. He’s posted solid numbers in every game he’s played, and he came up huge for Golden State in its 111-106 overtime win over Miami. He had 20 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and four steals in the Warriors’ comeback win. He also made a key bucket in the extra period while playing excellent defense on late shot attempts by Dwyane Wade and LeBron James to help secure the win.
Marreese Speights: Speights has been a welcome addition for the Grizzlies, who signed Speights to help the team overcome a devastating injury to power forward Zach Randolph. Against the Lakers this past Sunday, Speights recorded 17 points, seven rebounds and two steals in 29 minutes of play. He started against the Thunder on Tuesday, putting up 10 points and two more steals in 20 minutes. With Randolph out 6-7 more weeks, the 6-10, 255-pound Speights’ contributions will be invaluable to a struggling Memphis squad. The Grizzlies, who came within one win of making the Western Conference Finals a year ago, are 3-6 to start the year.
Photo by The Associated Press
