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Fred Hoiberg toying with the idea of making Joakim Noah a reserve as Bulls beat Pacers - Chicago
Major League BaseballDerrick Rose was hitting the pads on Tuesday, while Joakim Noah was hitting the bench.
And with the games actually counting in less than a week, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg obviously still had more questions about his roster than answers.
“Whatever is best for the team,’’ Noah said of his temporary demotion from the starting lineup to the bench prior to the 103-94 win over the Indiana Pacers. “It’s not about me right now. It’s about this team. We have to figure out ways to get better. And we will.’’
They might want to in a hurry, especially with the Bulls scheduled to tip off the NBA regular season Oct. 27 against LeBron James and the defending Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
So while Hoiberg was not exactly admitting that he’s completely sold on the idea that Noah would be better served as a full-time bench player, the fact that he was experimenting with it at least showed that it was in play. Not the kind of news Noah might want to be hearing, especially in a contract year, but news that Hoiberg said his veteran center handled like a professional.
“No, he was great,’’ Hoiberg said of the discussion he had with Noah. “I think he’s excited to get out there and play with [reserve] Taj [Gibson]. He’s excited about the chemistry that those two have out there on the floor together.
“He didn’t fight it one bit. And again, nothing is final to this point.’’
What Hoiberg will be weighing with just one preseason game left is using Pau Gasol and Niko Mirotic as starters, while keeping Noah and Gibson as his second unit frontcourt. If Tuesday was any indication of looking for fast starts, Mirotic did score 11 in that opening quarter against the Pacers, while Gasol had five.
The problem?
The Bulls surrendered 21 of Indiana’s 34 first-quarter points with Gasol and Mirotic playing together in that opening seven-plus minutes.
There was take, but way too much give.
“We still haven’t made a decision,’’ Hoiberg did say several times, when asked about having a definite starting lineup.
The one player that continued to be in jeopardy of answering the bell for that first game against the Cavs was Rose, who continued rehabbing his way back from a Sept. 30 surgery to repair a orbital fracture. There was, however, good news on that front.
“I was very encouraged by the session we had with Derrick [Tuesday],’’ Hoiberg said. “We were in there at about 11 o’clock and he came in and got a great workout, got a good lift, got a tempo run. And then he got a very good basketball workout where we hit him with some contact, hit him with the pad, put him through the offense with the coaches that were there. And really encouraged by the way he looked out there on the floor.’’
With the Bulls not playing their final preseason game until Friday, Hoiberg’s hope was that Rose would be ready for full contact in practice by the end of the week, and then who knows? But being ready for the intensity of a regular-season game by Tuesday would be a lot to ask.
“The last thing in the world you want to do is put him in a bad situation where he hasn’t gone through an extended time of full contact,’’ Hoiberg said of Rose. “So we’re going to be careful. We’ll be cautious with it. I’ve said this all along: It’s a long, long season, and you just don’t want to put him out there and jeopardize him.’’
