The Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls matchup on Thursday certainly lacked a certain aspect of appeal considering Derrick Rose is currently out with a knee injury. The preseason, this game looked like a preview to the Eastern Conference finals, but the loss of Rose dimmed the spotlight a bit. Despite the lack of national appeal, the rivalry is still ongoing and no one hates Miami more than Joakim Noah.
Noah brought the attitude on Thursday night and it paid off. The Bulls beat the Miami Heat 107-87. The game was certainly a battle and one that Noah intended on winning this time around. Around get shutdown by the Heat a lot last year, the center knows just how important this win is a heated rivalry.
"Always," Noah said, via ESPNChicago.com. "Always. No question. I think the people in this city, there's something about when Miami comes to town. You wake up in the morning, you just feel it. You feel ... people in this city, they don't like [the] Miami Heat. We don't like the Miami Heat. It always feels good to beat them. A lot of battles. A lot of scars. A lot of tough losses. A lot of seasons ending because of them."
Noah admitted that the Bulls have been struggling since Rose was ruled out for essentially the entire season. The point guard gave fans some hope that he could return for the postseason, but for now Chicago is left to once again move on from the All-Star and fill the void. Much of that has fallen on Noah who has been in funk on the court since Rose went down. However, he bounced back on Thursday, putting up 17 points and 15 rebounds in the win.
"Our team needed [this win]," Noah said. "We've been through a lot the last couple weeks. Even for me, I think it's really hard to play without Derrick. I want to win with Derrick Rose. What Derrick represents to this city, there's not a lot of players who have that. He brings a lot of hope to the city, and I feed off that. I feel really privileged to be able to play in that position, so him going down was really hard for me, hard for us, but we have to move on and it's not easy."
Head coach Tom Thibodeau understands that his team has had a hard time with the loss of Rose. He is confident that they can once again answer the call to fill the absence of the point guard. The Bulls made it deep into the postseason without Rose before and they can certainly do it again, but much of that will depend on the play of Noah. Thibodeau believes that with time, his talents will only get better.
"He is getting his rhythm," Thibodeau said. "His big issue this year was missing training camp; now you can see his timing is coming back and he is getting a lot more comfortable with the ball. His defense has been there, but his reaction and timing is pretty good right now. Being ready mentally, being ready physically and being ready emotionally ... you need all three qualities."
