Noah talks to the Trib about his contract contributing to early struggles

by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2012 7:56 AM CST

In an interview with the Tribune, Noah for the first time revealed the five-year, $60 million extension he signed in October 2010 and which began this season contributed to his struggles.

"Yeah, no question, I thought about that," Noah said. "Sometimes you feel like because you're given so much money you're expected to do things. That's not the right mentality to have as a player.

"I have to play my game. I have to have fun out there. If I don't, I'm not the same player."

...

"In the beginning of the year, I was overthinking a lot. I was going through a lot of things personally. I feel a lot more comfortable now. I have to stop overthinking and just play."

Noah wouldn't go into specifics of the personal matters that weighed on him. But given that Noah posted just one double-double in his first 12 games and has notched seven in his last 10, plenty has changed.

KC goes on to address possible early-season conditioning problems for Noah, but Noah insists that wasn't the issue.

I suppose the early-season failings of, specifically, not holding onto the ball or missing tip-ins could be more attributed to the mental than physical, though I guess we'll never know. This does speak to the theory that Noah could be impacted in the future by any Dwight Howard trade rumors, an idea I had thought was pretty insulting to Noah but apparently isn't that outlandish.

I should emphasize that the contract extension (and any initial criticism thereof) was signed at the beginning of the 2010-11 season.

(ht: MartyMonday's destroyed FanShot, it went out a hero)

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Comments

It really is kind of a remarkable turnaround

One day it looked like he couldn’t play dead, and there was people saying he needs to be amnestied, and then all of a sudden he’s awesome again.

All of the tips that weren’t going down, are. All the jumpers that were bricked are now going down. He’s actually getting all of the rebounds rather than tapping them, or letting them squirt out of his hand. His help defense has been crisp. Passes are on target. If this was baseball I’d think he was taking steroids.

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 8:47 AM CST reply actions 3 recs

Not a big deal, he probably already smoked away $10 million of this year’s salary

"And thank you to God for making me an Atheist." - Ricky Gervais

by MichaelClutchtree on Feb 1, 2012 9:10 AM CST reply actions

This kind of crap

is beyond old.

by sue369 on Feb 1, 2012 3:19 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

Thank God someone noticed

As old as saying ‘crazy’ when referring to Rose

8tracks/Tumblr

by Option27 on Feb 1, 2012 4:11 PM CST up reply actions

does he still have that huge elbow pad?

by trig on Feb 1, 2012 9:13 AM CST reply actions

Nope, don't think so

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 10:05 AM CST up reply actions

hey trig, you were mentioned in The Basketball Jones podcast - so was BAB

I kid you not!

They were talking about the bulls-heat game and one of the dudes mentioned checking out BAB and he quoted one of your posts from the game thread or something.

I just remembered…

http://blogs.thescore.com/tbj/page/2/

I'm getting too old for this shit...

by Judge Mental on Feb 1, 2012 9:26 AM CST reply actions

dang reply fail

I'm getting too old for this shit...

by Judge Mental on Feb 1, 2012 9:27 AM CST up reply actions

just listened to it, it was about my "chalmers magic on Drose free throws"

i’m famous lol

by trig on Feb 1, 2012 9:46 AM CST up reply actions

yep, that's the one :)

I'm getting too old for this shit...

by Judge Mental on Feb 1, 2012 10:01 AM CST up reply actions

Anyone else think he can be an all-star this year?

Other than Dwight, he isn’t exactly against anyone else. Horford and Lopez are out for a while. Chandler’s team sucks. Bogut hasn’t been the same since his injury. It’s basically between Noah and Hibbert now. Since we pretty much have the best team right now I’m hoping the coaches vote for Jo instead of Hibbert.

by Wake on Feb 1, 2012 9:28 AM CST reply actions

The coaches won't vote for him out of spite

He’s the kind of player you love to have on your team, and hate if he isn’t.

by NerdVernacular on Feb 1, 2012 9:39 AM CST up reply actions

Monroe

by kmokeefe on Feb 1, 2012 9:56 AM CST up reply actions

If Monroe makes the All Star team, than the system is fucked

Even besides Noah, Hibbert is way more deserving than Monroe. Monroe is gonna be a nice player, but you just can’t reward a guy that plays for a team that shitty (unless you’re Kevin Love, in which case no one gives a shit)

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 10:09 AM CST up reply actions

shouldn't it reward the best players?

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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2012 10:13 AM CST up reply actions

Not really

Imo, it should be “Best players, on the best team” (which usually just so happens to be the actual “best players” because that’s how basketball works).

Plus, “Best player” is subjective. Is Monroe so much better than Hibbert or Noah this year, that he’s easily more deserving than them?

Last year when Kevin Love got picked, he might have been having a slightly better statistical season than Aldridge, but is that enough to overlook the fact that his team sucked? In other words, how should they determine who the best player is?

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 10:46 AM CST up reply actions

best player is subjective

that is why there is a vote. there is no objective qualifications. It should be whatever the voters say it is. You would take the quality of the team into consideration. I would too, but not enough to vote Noah in.

by Basketball Smurf on Feb 1, 2012 11:05 AM CST up reply actions

Fuck the best players

It’s for the fans. It should be the players I want to see in a high scoring exhibition.
Tim Duncan is great, but I watch Spurs games to fall asleep. I’m not voting for his boring ass.
I would rather see Blake Griffin do some crazy jumping than Dirk, who is by far better.
All-Star games should feature the most entertaining players, not just the best/more talented.

by metalkiwis on Feb 1, 2012 12:59 PM CST up reply actions

Watch a Piston's game.

Monroe puts up impressive numbers despite those idiots playing around him. With Gordon out there is absolutely nobody to spread the floor, Monroe gets doubled on almost any catch. Hibbert has an above average player at every position on the floor with him, Monroe has none.

by kmokeefe on Feb 1, 2012 10:20 AM CST up reply actions

Yeah, Monroe is very impressive. No argument there

But I think players on winning teams need to be rewarded more because the numbers mean something.

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 10:49 AM CST up reply actions

I think you're wrong, but all-star games are fun arguments like MVP ones in that they're not fun at all

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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2012 11:08 AM CST up reply actions

I'm not trying to argue, cause I sincerely don't give a shit

I’m just of the opinion that it’s not always easy to define an All Star, or who the best player is. If there’s two guys like Roy Hibbert and Greg Monroe for example, that are pretty similar, I’d go with the guy on the better team.

Sure, there’s exceptions every once in a while, but not enough to where I’d change how I feel about it.

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 12:20 PM CST up reply actions

Also interesting how, just like in the MVP thing

you find ways to argue with people over their opinion, without actually having an opinion yourself other than “These arguments are dumb”

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 12:33 PM CST up reply actions

or it's so uninteresting that you don't even remember the opinion

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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2012 12:38 PM CST up reply actions

What was it?

I just remember you playing devil’s advocate a lot to people that were pushing for Rose, mixed in with a lot of “MVP talk is dumb” stuff. Maybe I just missed it, did you ever actually say who you thought should get it (serious question)?

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 1:05 PM CST up reply actions

Dwight over LeBron

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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2012 1:20 PM CST up reply actions

You sir, are the worst

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 1:40 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

Kidding, but in all seriousness, I don't get that vote

You’re obviously in the “Best player is the MVP” camp, which is fine, but then wouldn’t that be Lebron, seeing as basically every stat suggested that?

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 1:42 PM CST up reply actions

his anchoring of the Orlando's defense

of which the stats are iffy

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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2012 1:59 PM CST up reply actions

You should've just taken my approach

I said Rose, because I think he’s the coolest, and because less people would hate me on this site (of course that all backfired when I proceeded to name about thirty people that were more deserving, after the Miami series)

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 2:05 PM CST up reply actions

Did you complain when Derrick Rose made the All-Star team in his 2nd year?

by Ozzie Montana on Feb 1, 2012 10:51 AM CST up reply actions

him? probably.

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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2012 11:08 AM CST up reply actions

Idk, don't remember who was left off at his position

I’m sure I was happy about it. But we were a pretty good team at the time, and Rose was our best player, so I don’t think that goes against how I feel about things anyway.

I never said the player had to come from a title contender team. I just don’t like guys getting rewarded that play on total suckfest teams. Greg Monroe is a prime example.

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 12:23 PM CST up reply actions

So you don't like guys who work their asses off to improve despite being surrounded by crap?

That makes zero sense. It’s an All-Star game, not “Best players from playoff teams” game.

by Ozzie Montana on Feb 1, 2012 1:00 PM CST up reply actions

So you don’t like guys who work their asses off to improve despite being surrounded by crap?

I don’t even know what that means, or how to respond. So you’re saying they’re MORE qualified?

My point is, that once you get to these coaches selections, there are MANY deserving players. It’s not like they’re gonna have to pull guys from the streets to fill the roster spots. And IMO, it’s not even that easy to differentiate who the best are, so one of the criteria I like to see matter more, is how a layer’s team is performing. That’s all. When it’s close, I think a guy on the better team is more deserving

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 1:10 PM CST up reply actions

They're equally qualified, that's the point.

I wouldn’t care who got selected between Hibbert and Monroe. Both are very good players who’ve made a decided improvement in their games. Just because Joe Dumars is still employed doesn’t mean Monroe doesn’t deserve recognition.

by Ozzie Montana on Feb 1, 2012 1:32 PM CST up reply actions

They’re equally qualified, that’s the point.

yeah, but that’s my point, they’re NOT equally qualified. The fact that Hibbert plays for a better team makes him more deserving.

Personally, I don’t care all that much to begin with, so I really don’t care to argue any longer, but I’ll just say that I like the idea of, when the decision is close (like with Hibbert and Monroe) the guy on the better team goes because it sets a precedent. A precedent that just because you put up good numbers, doesn’t mean you’re a great player.

I agree that in the case of people like Love and Monroe, who really are great players, and hard workers, it might not be entirely fair. But there’s also plenty of other cases of jackasses putting up god numbers on horrible teams

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 1:47 PM CST up reply actions

I called it

All it took was a Celtics game to get Noah going again.

by NerdVernacular on Feb 1, 2012 9:48 AM CST reply actions

thanks YFBB

For the shoutout. Good to have Noah back.

by MartyMondays on Feb 1, 2012 10:29 AM CST via mobile reply actions

No talk about how Rip Hamilton has basically been shut down?

Remember, another $5 million guaranteed to that guy next season.

by Ozzie Montana on Feb 1, 2012 11:07 AM CST reply actions

yeah but we're a top offense when he plays and we play New Jersey

I suppose it’s news, don’t ask too much.

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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2012 11:09 AM CST up reply actions

My bad, I don't want to get called an idiot by Option because I questioned the signing of an old guy who had injury problems the past few years.

by Ozzie Montana on Feb 1, 2012 11:31 AM CST up reply actions

At the time everyone was acting as if the injuries were gonna affect his play because of his age and such

Even you were referring to PER and so on.

My point was mainly about him being effective when on the court and he has been … very.

I will say I was wrong about the injuries though.
Never would have thought this hamstring thing would follow him around like this.

8tracks/Tumblr

by Option27 on Feb 1, 2012 12:07 PM CST via mobile up reply actions

Injuries have obviously affected his play because he can't fucking play.

by Ozzie Montana on Feb 1, 2012 1:01 PM CST up reply actions 3 recs

He sure looks good to me when he's out there

Same can’t be said for everyone else the Bulls could have had in free agency. As long as he’s fine for when games matter, wouldn’t u be happy with the signing considering what you’ve seen so far?

8tracks/Tumblr

by Option27 on Feb 1, 2012 1:10 PM CST via mobile up reply actions

Yeah, it's still not a bad signing, just disapointing

And actually, the fact that it WAS a good signing is what makes it disappointing. If it was a mistake and he sucked, we wouldn’t care that he was hurt, we’d be freaking out and trying to get JR Smith or someone else here.

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 1:12 PM CST up reply actions

Maybe because there's no way of predicting he'll be healthy for the games that count?

I think he was the best option out there all things considered but for some reason people don’t seem concerned at all that the guy who makes our team a top 5 offense can’t get on the court.

by Ozzie Montana on Feb 1, 2012 1:35 PM CST up reply actions

If he completely heals up that groin

And he still can’t get on the court, then I’ll be worried

I understand this has lingered for a while but I gotta give him the benefit of believing he’ll be there when it counts

8tracks/Tumblr

by Option27 on Feb 1, 2012 1:42 PM CST via mobile up reply actions

I think plenty of people care

but until we actually start losing a few games, it will be hard to get worked up over it. If we drop a few of these road games, I guarantee a little panic will start to set in

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 1:49 PM CST up reply actions

Ya, but it still could have been worse IMO

Jason Richardson has been shit and he has a 4 year deal. Vince Carter actually might have been nice, but he’s got a longer deal too. Crawford has been beyond abysmal. The one that is really pissing me off is Caron Butler. Assuming he could play some SG, he would have been nice.

by DRoseO1 on Feb 1, 2012 11:41 AM CST up reply actions

isnt butler getting paid 8 milla yr?

by Geo4MVP on Feb 1, 2012 11:43 AM CST up reply actions

yep

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 12:28 PM CST up reply actions

And Bogans

is no longer available.

by Tim S. on Feb 1, 2012 12:00 PM CST up reply actions

OK, Rip news in the game preview

http://www.blogabull.com/2012/2/1/2764010/game-24-preview-bulls-vs-sixers

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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2012 12:01 PM CST up reply actions

I wouldnt trade Noah for Howard, I like Jo Jo a lot and he is a big reason why our defense has been so good.

MCM's Favorite Hawkeye

by rsikes on Feb 1, 2012 11:43 AM CST reply actions

err, you do know howard is the best defender in the league and deng and noah defense combined doesnt even match howards defense

hell make our interior defense into a solid titanium wall!!!

by Geo4MVP on Feb 1, 2012 11:46 AM CST up reply actions

yeah but does he have a cute nickname like 'jo jo'?

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by your friendly BullsBlogger on Feb 1, 2012 11:47 AM CST up reply actions

I could get used to ho ho

by Ozzie Montana on Feb 1, 2012 1:08 PM CST up reply actions

that's only in warm-weather cities

Rose decides not to go 1-on-2 and I was thinking, "what are you doing?! You've got the numbers!" -Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live

by Prevenge on Feb 1, 2012 5:07 PM CST up reply actions

Logic dictates that we should trade anyone besides Rose to acquire Dwight...

but I really don’t want Jo to go. Besides Noah being Noah on the court, Jo has been a big part of changing the culture in the locker room.

by Wake on Feb 1, 2012 1:31 PM CST up reply actions

punch yourself

by NormVanBeer on Feb 1, 2012 12:04 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs

ow that hurt.

MCM's Favorite Hawkeye

by rsikes on Feb 1, 2012 2:25 PM CST up reply actions

O_o

by JustAnotherFan on Feb 1, 2012 12:51 PM CST up reply actions

What the hell?!?!?

Get ready for that 7th banner Chicago...it's '90-'91 all over again!

by kingles on Feb 1, 2012 1:19 PM CST up reply actions

did I stutter?

MCM's Favorite Hawkeye

by rsikes on Feb 1, 2012 2:25 PM CST up reply actions

NO, but you were so wrong that it actually causes people to wonder aloud what the hell you were thinking

Hence, that response

Injuries. Fuck.

by Juiceboxjerry on Feb 1, 2012 2:29 PM CST up reply actions

im allowed to have an opinion.

If Dwight were to end up on the Bulls, I would all in favor of it, but I was just saying I like Noah as a player and the energy he brings to the team, so if the Bulls didnt want to gut their team, that’d be ok with me too.

MCM's Favorite Hawkeye

by rsikes on Feb 1, 2012 2:35 PM CST up reply actions