Feb. 01--Ice bags on his knees secured, the morning shootaround concluded, Joakim Noah sat back in a chair on the edge of the University of San Francisco court and stared straight ahead.
"This is the best I've felt physically all season," Noah said early last week.
The Bulls' heart and soul on defense and emotional leader had said that before this season. Then his activity, a mixture of slower-than-usual lateral movement and lack of repeated springy jumping, suggested otherwise.
The Bulls may be 1-2 thus far on their six-game trip that continues Wednesday in Houston, but easily the most encouraging sign -- even beyond an overtime victory over the Warriors and Derrick Rose playing close to 122 minutes over three games in four nights -- is Noah backing up his assessment with action.
At his best, Noah is a man in motion. He challenges shots. He rotates defensively. He switches onto smaller players. He reacts to rebounds. He uses multiple effort and repeated quick jumps for putbacks.
That's the Noah who tallied 36 points, 42 rebounds and 20 assists in close to 115 minutes against the Warriors, Lakers and Suns.
That Noah said he didn't want to say anything crazy after the victory over the Warriors and then "stink it up the next night" underscores how precarious his physical state remains following offseason left knee surgery.
Still, there's hope.
"I feel like I'm moving better," Noah said. "That's important. I definitely have another gear I want to get to."
As recently as last Sunday, Noah sat the entire fourth quarter of the disappointing home loss to the Heat. A team spokesman said Noah followed that matinee by crossing the street for additional work at the Advocate Center. Noah denied that, but coach Tom Thibodeau said the same thing.
"He was disappointed in the Miami game, came over to the gym, started working," Thibodeau said. "And I think that was sort of a springboard to what's going on now. He's playing with great activity. I think what got him going was he had four great work days that were high-intensity. And we need it. He's huge for our team."
Rose used the same word when describing Noah's value. In fact, Rose said it twice.
"Huge. Huge, man," Rose said. "In this league, you need size. All the championship teams you think about, they have at least some size on their team. Two 7-footers, we need them. And Jo with the way that he plays and the energy he brings to the game and just his presence on the floor changes things."
Questions remain about Noah's ability to close games with Pau Gasol, the other 7-footer Rose cited. With Gasol guarding centers and patrolling the paint, Noah isn't in the closing role he played last season, when he Energizer-bunnied his way to Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Noah would've loved to make his third straight All-Star appearance and play in front of family and friends in New York, the city he has consistently stated toughened him up and made him the player he is today.
Rest assured the fun-loving Noah will find a good beach to pass the time. Perhaps the break will be a blessing in disguise, emboldening Noah for the stretch run.
"He's moving good, just got to be patient with him," Rose said. "He's headed in the right direction. All you can do now is just keep putting in consistent work every day. You see it's paying off a little bit. He's got that energy and getting a lot of tip-ins and tip-backs. I know I'm happy and I think the whole group is happy with the way he's producing."
