Times are tough in Tom Thibodeau's basketball fiefdom.
Taj Gibson is out, Rip Hamilton is out, Luol Deng has a busted-up jaw and Nate Robinson's shot-selection chip is forever on the fritz.
As for Derrick Rose's return, well, Godot has a clearer arrival date than Rose.
Forward Lou Amundson just signed a 10-day contract and that qualifies for good news right now.
After two years living it up atop the Eastern Conference, the Bulls are angling for playoff position with the plebians and the schedule is only getting tougher.
But through all the turmoil, Thibodeau has one guy he can count on, Joakim Noah.
Well, until Noah gets injured again, or a flareup of his plantar fasciitis puts him on the bench. But let's not linger too long on the nastiness of the future. As Thibodeau would say, the biggest game is the next game.
As long as we're living in the present, let's celebrate Noah, who has single-handedly woken up the Bulls from their February slumber.
Noah thrilled the United Center with a triple-double (23 points, 21 rebounds, 11 blocks) Thursday, leading the Bulls to a win over Philadelphia.
On Saturday night, the All-Star center followed with a 21-point, 10-rebound, five-assist, four-blocked shot performance in the Bulls' 96-85 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.
Not a bad encore.
After picking up an early technical during the Bulls' sluggish start, Noah wound up playing 41:13 and hit 10 of 13 shots.
"The way he is playing is really inspiring to the rest of the team," said Thibodeau, that noted sentimentalist.
Noah is playing through plantar fasciitis pain, which he's managing with treatments, massages and, you know, playing 40+ minutes a night. He admitted it's tiring being an inspirational figure.
Why couldn't Mitch get him!!!!!
If Noah is banged up, his effort gets compromised. He's a hustle player. Everytime he's had an injury whether it was an ankle, foot, wrist etc, his play suffered. I fux wit Noah but he hasnt been our most consistent player.
