Jo’s wise calm-back: It’s Noah-vember
Amid premature but growing concerns that this might be another season without Derrick Rose in full bloom, Joakim Noah provided calming spiritual guidance Saturday on theWest Side.
‘‘It’s November . . . it’s No-vember,’’ Noah— as in Yoda— said slowly, while smiling wisely.
The subtext: Nobody ever won anything at this point in a season. Better to let injuries heal up rather than risk having them linger.
The concerns won’t go away, though. Rose sat out the Pacers game with an injured left hamstring.
‘‘It’s day-to-day,’’ coach Tom Thibodeau said. ‘‘Derrick is a lot better today than he was yesterday. If he needs time, we’re going to give him time. We have to be patient.’’
Thibodeau declined to speculate on when the Bulls, who begin a seven-game road tripMonday against the Clippers, might have Rose back.
Backups step up
The play of backup point guards Kirk Hinrich (15 points) and Aaron Brooks (six points) has made patience with Rose’s injuries as easily done as said.
‘‘The thing I love about the team is that Hinrich has been great as a starter,’’ Thibodeau said, ‘‘and Brooks has been great playing big minutes. Guys have stepped in.’’
Hinrich and Brooks have helped the Bulls get off to a 7-2 start despite Rose’s injury issues.
‘‘That’s why it’s a team,’’ Thibodeau said. ‘‘We understand that Derrick coming back is of big interest to a lot of people. But we have a lot of guys playing well. The thing I don’t want to get lost in it are the guys that are doing a great job.’’
With Noah also coming off offseason knee surgery, that group is led by Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol, who have been rock-solid.
‘‘We probably haven’t talked about [Butler] enough,’’ Thibodeau said. ‘‘Jimmy has been terrific on both ends. He and [Gasol] are leading the way. Noah is coming on, getting stronger. He and Pau are developing chemistry. There’s a lot of good stuff going on.’’
Notes
Gasol notched his 3,000th assist in the first quarter. He’s one of six NBA players who have 16,000 points, 8,000 rebounds, 3,000 assists and 1,500 blocks. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Garnett and TimDuncan are the others.
The Bulls will put their 5-0 road record to a serious test against the Clippers. The last time they won their first six road games was in 1996-97. That team finished 69-13, including 30-11 on the road, and won the NBA title.