Oct. 10--BOULDER, Colo. -- There's something different about Joakim Noah this season, and it extends beyond his livelier movement after last season's labors.
He has ditched his left knee brace.
Noah didn't practice Friday because of a small bruise on that knee that he suffered during an entanglement with Kenneth Faried and an ugly-looking fall in Thursday's exhibition loss to the Nuggets. Noah didn't need an MRI exam for the injury, and he and coach Fred Hoiberg called it minor.
It's undetermined whether Noah plays Saturday against the Timberwolves in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Given the team's conservative approach thus far in the preseason, it's possible if not likely Noah sits. Pau Gasol practiced fully but also has yet to make his exhibition debut following a busy summer of international competition.
But ditching the brace Noah wore all last season after his May 2014 left knee surgery should be symbolic.
Noah spent close to two full months training at the acclaimed P3 Sports Science Academy in Santa Barbara, Calif., and insists he's physically different.
"Overall, I'm happy with the work I put in this summer. I just need to translate it a little better on the court," Noah said. "I'm moving well, trying to be patient and learn a new system, see where I'm going to get opportunities and just be a good leader for this team."
Noah joked about his difficulty with working in the program with opponents like Al Jefferson and Andre Drummond. But he called the experience one of the best of his career.
"I just wanted to get some peace of mind for myself. I don't really know anybody out there. I just wanted to be able to focus on basketball and being healthy," he said. "It's a great place to put in work. Santa Barbara is beautiful, obviously, the ocean, California. That's not too shabby. You can go, get your workout in and then take a nice ocean swim.
"They do a lot of testing in the beginning. The work is very different, a lot of (elastic) band work and weights. They figure out the strengths and weaknesses in your body and push you to better align your body. At the end, they do another test."
Thus far, Noah's movement has passed the eye test. His production has failed to meet standards. He's 1-for-8 and his timing on putbacks has been off. He also has missed several shots from in close.
Noah does have 13 rebounds in 35 minutes.
"After going back and watching the film, Jo did so many little things that didn't show up in the stat sheet -- setting a random flair in transition to set up a 3-pointer, spacing the floor," Hoiberg said. "He was really good as far as relocating, staying under the basket, not flashing in to disrupt spacing.
"If you ask him, he probably wishes he would have finished better. But he gave us great energy. He did a lot of little things. And he's moving better. He'll probably be the first to tell you from a physical standpoint that his body feels a lot better than it did a year ago."
kcjohnson@tribpub.com
