Noah loves beating Heat
Bulls center says he hates champs
It’s no secret that Joakim Noah is not a fan of the Miami Heat. The two-time defending champions have eliminated the Chicago Bulls from the playoffs in two of the last three seasons, and it has given the All- Star center plenty of motivation and — in his own words — a lot of hate.
That hate, not to mention Noah’s 20 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and five blocked shots, powered the Bulls to a 95-88 overtime win against the Heat at United Center on Sunday, and Noah couldn’t pretend he wasn’t excited.
“This is what you play basketball for,” Noah said. “I love it. I’m having a great time. I’m having a blast out there. Beating Miami, I don’t care if it’s regular season, it’s always special.”
With Derrick Rose sitting out the entire season after having his second major knee surgery in less than two years, fiery Noah has become the Bulls’ engine. He just made his second consecutive AllStar team, and he is playing some of the best basketball of his seven-year career.
He’s averaging 7.1 assists a game in the past month, shouldering much of the playmaking responsibility in Rose’s absence.
“He’s a hell of a player at both ends of the floor,” shooting guard Jimmy Butler said. “I don’t know what we would do without him. He’s a great leader. He puts the team on his back every night.”
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has preached consistency and denies games against the Heat hold more meaning. For Noah, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
“We want what they’ve got, and we have to go through those guys to get to it,” Noah said. “They’ve ended our seasons a lot. That’s where the hate comes from. It’s not like, ‘I hate this guy.’ The hate comes from we want what they have. I want a championship, and I know that to get there one day we have to go through them. That’s the hatred.”
At 35-28, the Bulls hold the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference despite Rose’s injury and the January trade of Luol Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Without a dominant scorer like Rose, the Bulls have been forced to win games on the defensive end.
“Defense is all about repetition, having trust in your teammates, and I think we all have a pretty good understanding of what we need to do,” Noah said.
The Bulls have a stretch of formidable opponents coming through United Center throughout March, with games against the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Indiana Pacers and Portland Trail Blazers in the coming weeks. Noah is using Rose’s absence as motivation while keeping his eyes on the final goal.
“We’re hungry, man,” he said. “We’re a hungry group. And that’s what I want. I want everyone in this locker room, everyone who wears a Bulls jersey, to work. We’re going for one thing. That’s the championship.
“One day, I want to party in Chicago; I want to see what that feels like one day.”