The Chicago Bulls are playing their best basketball of the season as they have won four in a row and five of their last six against a very tough schedule. This great six-game stretch has all come with Joakim Noah on the sidelines, which may or may not be a coincidence. Noah hurt his shoulder two weeks ago against the Brooklyn Nets, but it appears he is progressing well and he may be cleared to return at some point next week, according to Cody Westerlund of CBS Chicago.
When Noah first injured the shoulder, it looked like the injury might be more serious than it ended up being. In the end, Noah was diagnosed with a shoulder strain and was given a two-four-week timetable for a return. It has now been two weeks since the injury, and after being re-evaluated it seems like Noah has a good shot to return to the lineup next week, which would be right in the middle of the initial timetable. So far Noah has missed six games, but he will likely end up missing about nine or 10.
Noah has been coming off the bench for the Bulls this season, and his role is as small as it has ever been in his NBA career. Despite all of that, Noah has still had a great attitude and has provided great energy off the bench for Chicago. Through 25 games he is averaging 4.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.
Noah's injury gave head coach Fred Hoiberg an opportunity to get rookie Bobby Portis into the regular rotation, and he has performed really well since Noah has been, out so Hoiberg will have some decisions to make when Noah returns. It seems very likely Noah will rejoin the rotation and neither Pau Gasol nor Taj Gibson are going to lose their spots, so it might come down to Portis and Nikola Mirotic for that final big man rotation spot.
Hoiberg has been playing Mirotic at the three a little more often recently to account for the depth Chicago has in its frontcourt, but something has to give when Noah returns. Hoiberg has said he has no idea how he will allocate the minutes when Noah gets back, and he will have a very tough decision to make as all five guys deserve playing time, but he will have a hard time convincing fans Portis shouldn't be playing if that's the direction in which he chooses to go.
