Joakim Noah (Photo : Reuters/Dennis Wierzbicki)
The Chicago Bulls faces a shaky situation as big-man Joakim Noah starts to get benched and had his minutes limited due to a knee injury.
The two-time NBA All-Star center had to sit on the match against Charlotte Hornets after experiencing some soreness before the game started.
This was a precautionary move in order to keep the big man healthy for the upcoming playoffs, according to Chicago Tribune.
Having a unique pass-first playing style as a center, the Bulls will miss Noah's average of 4.7 assists per game should he continue to sit on Chicago's next games.
The team will also lose his contributions on rebounds and defensive pressure inside the paint.
This will be a very tough situation as the Bulls' injury reports are increasing as former MVP Derrick Rose, upcoming Bulls superstar Jimmy Butler, and Defensive bigman Taj Gibson are all reported to have been out due to injuries.
With these stars out, losing Noah will give the Bulls a very shaky roster; leaving their playoffs results in jeopardy.
This is why the management decided to play it safe and limit Noah's minutes.
Despite the injury and limited minutes, Noah remains to be positive that they his team will make to the playoffs, and even get a chance to make a finals appearance, CSN Chicago reported.
"I still think we're the toughest team to beat in a seven-game series," the positive center proudly stated.
He still believes that the defensive plays that coach Tom Thibodeau remains to be one of the strongest in the league.
"Thibs' defense is predicated on five guys moving on both sides of the ball. Live and die by the contested two. That's our philosophy. Hopefully we can get our defense to a higher level." Noah added.
