Seemingly out of nowhere, in the last 7 games Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah’s minutes have dropped. While the drop isn’t all that apparent at first glance, it seems to be that there was a moment in time where things change for the Bulls and Noah’s playing time.
From February 20th, right after the All-Star break, until March 3rd, over a 7 game span, Joakim Noah averaged 34.6 minutes per game. All of a sudden since March 5th, Noah currently is having a 7 game trend going on that has him playing only 28.3 minutes per game, including one game when he didn’t play at all.
In the 7 games immediately after the All-Star break, the Bulls record was a sustainable 4-3 which are the games that Noah played 34.6 minutes per game. Since Noah’s minutes have been altered, the Bulls record stands at 2-5, with one win being over the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime and the other over the Oklahoma City Thunder, thanks to a last second shot by unheralded bench player, E’Twaun Moore.
This past Sunday was the most apparent minutes issue of all, as Noah was held out of the pivotal final minutes against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a tight contest, a game in which the Bulls lost to the Thunder.
It seems like Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has an explanation on this.
From Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago.
…the clock determined Noah couldn’t play heavy minutes because of a 32-minute restriction he’s been placed under, said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.
“I ran out of minutes with him,” Thibodeau said. “But I thought Jo played a very good game for us.”
“Yeah. Yeah, 32,” Thibodeau said of the restriction, while adding he doesn’t know when or if it’ll be lifted—even for the upcoming postseason.
Yet another chapter in the saga of coach Thibodeau against the Bulls but this time it’s more subtle of a shot. It’s a hard line to walk. What do you do in this scenario? Play your best defensive big man or save his minutes?
Noah has played more than 32 minutes in 24 of his 56 games this season so there is some sort of precedent for Noah playing those minutes. Then there’s the flipside with the injury issues the Bulls have with Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson already fighting through their own problems. It seems like Chicago is focusing more on its players’ long-term health and managing Noah’s knee issues should certainly be a priority right now.
Chicago is in a tight race with the Toronto Raptors and Washington Wizards for the 3 through 5 seeds in the Eastern Conference. It seems like landing at the 4 or 5 seed and avoiding a possible matchup with the second-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round is the ideal outcome, especially when Cavs coach David Blatt is aiming for that second seed, no matter what.
Resting Noah is going to be key but at the risk of losing games? It doesn’t always work out in the favor for some teams when they rest their players, unless you’re trying to lose on purpose.
