Bulls’ Joakim Noah kept out second day by ‘personal’ matter
BY JOE COWLEY jcowley@suntimes.com October 7, 2012 9:00PM
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Updated: November 9, 2012 6:20AM
Joakim Noah has a reputation as a free spirit, but he remained a missing one Sunday.
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said his starting center missed a second consecutive day of training camp for ‘‘personal reasons.’’
‘‘Just a personal matter,’’ Thibodeau said. ‘‘He’ll be out a couple days. Hopefully he’ll be back [Monday].’’
Noah spent a few weeks in the offseason working with NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, especially on offense, so it would be nice for the Bulls to have him back for the preseason opener Tuesday.
While Noah feels he has taken strides, Thibodeau isn’t about to start running the offense through the 6-11 big man just yet.
‘‘We did quite a bit with him in the past,’’ Thibodeau said. ‘‘The issue with Jo is really his durability. He has to stay healthy. That’s been the big thing with him.
‘‘He’s unique because of his passing ability. We were able to play off of him quite a bit when Derrick [Rose] got double-teamed. In pick-and-roll situations, we thought we were able to get high-percentage offense because of [Noah’s] play-making ability. I think he’s got to be a better finisher inside off of second shots. Those are some of the things he can probably do better.’’
A first look
Don’t expect the Bulls to show very much in Tuesday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, particularly from the projected regular starters. Thibodeau admitted the first game is about getting a look at players who are on the bubble to make the roster.
‘‘We’ll get a look at a lot of guys in that game,’’ he said. ‘‘I want to evaluate some players in that game.’’
