From Caro Wallis | Flickr

The Bulls headed north to face the Milwaukee Bucks Friday night in a Central Division matchup of two teams trending in different directions.

Chicago ran out 81-72 winners, despite a 12-point fourth quarter. In a game the Bulls led for the majority. Carlos Boozer led in scoring with 19 points to go with 13 rebounds but it was Mike Dunleavy’s 18 points, including six straight in the final two minutes, that gave the Bulls their seventh win in nine contests and ensured Chicago stayed unbeaten in Milwaukee since 2009.

Both teams shot horrendously from the floor, the Bulls winning despite shooting 38 percent while Milwaukee was held to a paltry 31 percent.

Chicago also enjoyed success at the free-throw line, shooting a staggering 39 free throw attempts, three shy of their season high against Memphis. In comparison, the Bucks went to the line just 12 times all night.

The Bucks opened the game quickly on a 10-1 run, hitting four of their first seven shots while Chicago’s offense was a stagnant, predictable affair with Kirk Hinrich running the show.

The introduction of D.J. Augustin late in the first quarter gave the Bulls offense some penetration, forcing Milwaukee’s defense to collapse and leaving plenty of space for Mike Dunleavy to splash three first-half triples on his way to 11 points at the interval.

Carlos Boozer was the hot hand early, scoring or assisting on 11 of Chicago’s first 16 points as he poured in 15 points and grabbed 5 rebounds as the Bucks’ frontcourt struggled through foul trouble in a first half dominated by tight refereeing, particularly on Milwaukee’s defensive possessions.

Chicago went to the line 28 times in the opening 24 minutes, compared to just 27 field goal attempts. The Bucks attempted just six shots from the charity stripe in the first half. The Bulls converted 21 of their 28 free-throws, leading 47-45 at the half.

The Bulls opened the third quarter on a 6-0 run as Milwaukee’s porous defense allowed Chicago great inside penetration with Boozer finishing the period with 19 points.

The Bucks scored just 14 points in the third as Chicago’s defense finally looked to exert some influence on the game.

The Bulls carried a 69-59 lead into the final frame but allowed Milwaukee to score the first seven points of the fourth quarter, including a wide-open Luke Ridnour three off another Bucks’ offensive rebound.

The Bulls continued their free throw dominance in the second half, with Gibson shooting the Bulls’ 34th and 35th free throws midway through the fourth to keep the Bulls noses ahead 73-71 before Dunleavy hit a jumper coming off a series of screens.

The Bulls offense began to stagnate again as the fourth quarter wore on as they took just one of their first 11 shot attempts in the final period inside the paint while Milwaukee went on a quick 7-0 spurt to close with three points before briefly tying the score at 71 with a little under four minutes to play.

Mike Dunleavy became the Bulls go-to scorer as Boozer went scoreless in the final quarter, scoring six consecutive points in the final two minutes from the field and free-throw line. His two free-throws en route to 18 points giving Chicago a 79-72 lead with just 1:16 to play before Kirk Hinrich sealed the victory with a mid-range pull-up with 20 seconds to play for the final margin.

Again criticism will come the way of the Bulls training staff as first Taj Gibson then Jimmy Butler returned to the game after being helped off, the latter noticeably laboring his way through a huge portion of the fourth quarter.

The post Bulls vs Bucks recap appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

The Bulls shot 36 percent from the field and amassed just 77 points, their fourth sub-80 point game in their last four and third consecutive loss.

It was awful from top to bottom – Toronto led early on and never really looked like being tested by a Bulls team short on scoring.

Toronto is openly, unabashedly tanking and yet the Bulls made them look like a team capable of earning a top-4 seed in the playoffs. Chicago desperately needs some time off to collect their thoughts, recover from the numerous nagging aches and pains and somehow find a way to rally.

The game was never truly out of Toronto’s hands – they led by 10 at halftime and held the Bulls scoreless through the first three minutes of the third quarter – being renamed the turd quarter for the Bulls – as they broke the game open.

Chicago gamely tried to make a comeback with Jimmy Butler connecting from behind the arc before Joakim Noah added two quick buckets. D.J. Augustin made his only shot of the night as the Bulls pulled within ten as the end of the quarter approached.

From there however, the Raptors stabilized the gap, maintaining a lead that never fluctuated much until late in the fourth quarter when a quick burst sent them clear for good.

Luol Deng returned from his latest injury to lead all scorers with 17 points, though he took 19 shots and failed to crack 20 points for the first time in six games. Carlos Boozer was simply awful tonight, finishing with eight points on 18 shots and failing to get to the free-throw line in 27 minutes.

Mike Dunleavy returned to the bench after Friday’s heroics in Milwaukee and shot a dismal 1-6 from behind the arc, finishing with 14 points on 5-12 shooting.

Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 16 points while DeMar DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas and Amier Johnson combined for 44 points, each scoring in double figures. Only Terrence Ross (4-12) shot under 50 percent among the Raptors’ starters.

New Bull D.J. Augustin also endured a cold shooting night, hitting one of his seven shots (a three in the fourth quarter), though he finished with 6 assists and zero turnovers, respectable considering he has yet to spend time learning the offense or tendencies of his team-mates.

Marquis Teague, who did not play in Milwaukee, was promoted into the starting lineup and was at least aggressively attacking the hoop and creating some kind of offense. Teague has proven a pesky defender and this trait is keeping him on the court for the time being.

Without sounding too extreme, the Bulls need to produce some kind of uptick in performance soon. The calls to trade Luol Deng and at least attempt to find a partner for Carlos Boozer’s contract are growing with every disheartening defeat such as this.

The post Bulls 77, Raptors 99: Another horrific loss appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

From Flickr via Shinya

Bulls Insider Sam Aggrey reported this afternoon that Jimmy Butler did not practice today and his status for the Bulls’ upcoming road trip is uncertain.

During last night’s game, Butler left during the third quarter but ended up returning a short time later in the fourth quarter.  After the game Butler mentioned to reporters that he was in some pain. Unfortunately he may have understated the amount of pain he was feeling as Butler was forced to sit out at practice today. Coach Tom Thibodeau informed the media that Butler would be getting an MRI this afternoon.

Thibodeau did not have an answer for who may replace Butler in the starting lineup if he misses Thursday’s game.  Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Kirk Hinrich would be the two leading candidates to be the next man up. Hinrich may have a slight edge on Thursday because Denver has been using smaller lineups this year featuring both Ty Lawson and Randy Foye.

This is not great news for the Bulls as Jimmy Butler has struggled at times this season to find a good flow offensively with the return of Derrick Rose.  Many were expecting a breakout season from Butler this season, but it just hasn’t quite clicked for him thus far and this injury certainly won’t help.

The post Butler Questionable for Road Trip appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Don’t let the score fool you that much. The game started off much like most Bulls games do- Chicago played strong defense, the opponent missed their shots, and Chicago struggled to get much offense of their own going. Things changed quickly. After opening up a 15-8 lead in the first quarter Chicago allowed Miami to grab the lead for good to end the quarter 17-15. The second quarter marked Chicago’s implosion as the Bulls allowed the Heat to take off on a 17-0 to fall to a 21 point deficit at the end of the half. The third quarter was marked heavily by both teams trading blows. Behind the efforts of Jimmy Butler the Bulls managed to string together a run in the middle of the fourth quarter to bring the deficit down to 8 points. However, the run came too late.

The loss was ugly. The defense was lack luster especially around the perimeter and the offense was shaky. However if there is something Bulls fans can take solace in it’s the fact that the Heat only did their damage when both Jimmy Butler and Luol Deng were forced to sit in the second quarter with foul trouble. It’s likely that Tom Thibodeau’s rotations involve having either Jimmy Butler or Luol Deng on the floor at all times which means tonight’s situation will likely be rare for the Bulls. While the game was ugly for Chicago, when either Deng or Butler (or both) were on the floor, the team flowed better. Another fact that the Bulls can take solace in is that the Bulls got the looks they wanted all night but just couldn’t convert. I’m not overly concerned with the team’s offense. It’s the beginning of the season and there is rust, Thibodeau recently switched the team to a new “read and react” offense, and teams just have these bad nights from time to time. The team will come together and the Bulls will perform much better moving forward. The season is still young.

The following are some small player reviews for key players from tonight’s game. Normally I would expand these reviews make this a separate post titled “Game Grades” however they will be included in tonight’s recap.

Joakim Noah- 2 pts, 11 rbs, 2 asts, 2 stls, 2 blks, 2 tos
Noah had a night to forget and probably shouldn’t have played altogether given his recent groin injury. On offense Noah was incredibly shaky. His passing wasn’t as crisp and clean as it normally is and he couldn’t get any rhythm on offense. On several occasions Noah botched several scoring opportunities and managed his only points of the day on a fast break dunk. Defensively Noah seemed a half step slower than he normally was and allowed some players, like Bosh, to drive on him. Finally, he didn’t seem like he was as energetic rebounding as he normally is. On both offensive and defensive rebounds Noah seemed to be outworked by his Miami counterparts. Whatever the reason was, Noah was out of rhythm tonight.

Carlos Boozer- 31 pts, 7 rbs, 2 asts, 1 stl, 1 blk, 2 tos
Boozer played out of his mind on both sides tonight. On offense he demonstrated that in addition to being able to shoot an elbow jumper, he can drive and play with his back to the basket. On one play, Boozer backdown Chris Andersen and used a spin move to get himself a wide open layup. His offensive efforts led to a 72.2% night from the floor. Defensively Boozer was spotty. From time to time he made the same boneheaded mistakes such as failing to rotate but at others he showed poise and quick hands as he managed to block a shot and strip the ball out of the hands of some Heat players. Phenomenal night from Boozer.

Luol Deng- 4 pts, 5 rbs, 4 asts, 2 stls, 3 tos
Deng’s night was mostly forgettable. Defensively he had difficulty going against Lebron James, though that shouldn’t be too much of a shock. Most of Deng’s damage came on offense where he couldn’t get anything going for the Bulls tonight. Deng fell short on all 5 of his three point attempts, lost his dribble a couple of times, and just made some poor decisions in terms of passing. For all his poor play though the team did perform a little better with him on the floor though.

Jimmy Butler- 20 pts, 3 rbs, 3 asts, 5 stls, 1 blk, 2 tos
Butler was the gold spot of tonight’s game for Chicago. He put the team on his back towards the end of the third quarter and through the fourth and led the Bulls fight to come back in the game. Defensively he was a rock (what else is new?) and managed to get deflect a lot of passes and made life difficult for whoever he was guarding, including Lebron James. The team’s overall play took a nosedive when Butler was called for his third foul early in the game but picked up significantly when he came back onto the floor. That should tell you everything you need to know about his performance.

Derrick Rose- 12 pts, 1 rbs, 4 asts, 5 tos
Rose’s return wasn’t what any of us were hoping for by any means. Rose shot a poor 26.7% from the floor including 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. Defensively Rose was repeatedly burned by whoever he was guarding and seems like he’s regressed a bit from 2011, though this isn’t too shocking. Offensively I find it a bit hard to blame Rose for his struggles (outside of his ill-advised three point shots… those I blame him for). Most of Rose’s game driving to the basket is reliant on the team’s ability to spread the floor and open up some lanes for him to drive through. However, the team’s overall struggles shooting the ball failed to produce any holes for him to work with and, as a result, Rose couldn’t get anything consistent going. For reference as to how poorly the team shot the ball, refer to the shot chart from NBA.com below.

Bench- Taj Gibson, Tony Snell, Mike Dunleavy, Kirk Hinrich
The bench tonight failed to produce much tonight and were a big reason why the Bulls fell into the big hole in the second quarter of the game. Taj Gibson was the brightest spot of the bench as he managed to provide some semblance of offense and played solid defense. Kirk Hinrich wasn’t terrible on offense tonight though his shot release was fairly slow. There were a few occasions where Hinrich was open for a three point shot but by the time he released he was completely guarded by an opponent. Defensively Hinrich also appeared a step slow for most of the night. Dunleavy managed to get his game going in the fourth quarter as he knocked down two three pointers, a jump shot, and a pair of free throws, however outside of the fourth quarter his performance was miserable. Defensively he was repeatedly burned and offensively he had zero rhythm on his shot. Finally, Tony Snell saw his NBA debut guarding Lebron James during that second quarter stretch during which Butler and Deng sat. Not surprisingly, Snell struggled against the likes of Lebron and made several rookie mistakes when handling the ball on offense. Snell, who had demonstrated a decent three point shot during the Summer League and during the preseason, fell short on all of his jump shots on the night as well.

The post Chicago Bulls 95 – Miami Heat 107: Game Recap appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Previous player capsules can be found here: Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Jimmy Butler, Kirk Hinrich, Taj Gibson, Nate Robinson, Marco Belinelli

Richard Hamilton- F:
For his second strait season with Chicago, Richard Hamilton has once again laid an egg. Offensively his production decreased across the board and defensively he’s failed to keep up with most players and has proved to be almost as big of a liability as Carlos Boozer. To add to that, Hamilton failed to stay relatively healthy for the majority of the season. The combination of his deteriorating health and poor play when he was on the floor ultimately led to him being benched by coach Tom Thibodeau. The Bulls currently have a team option many expect them to decline on Hamilton’s $5 million per year contract.

Nazr Mohammed- C-:
When Nazr Mohammed was signed to be the replacement backup big man after Omer Asik’s departure, the majority of the world laughed. Given his age and general performance over the past few season, Mohammed’s expectations were dismally low and he easily lived up to them making this a fairly average year for him. As a whole, his offensive production was lacking and his defensive play left much to be desired. However, as far as backup players go the Bulls could have done worse and he did put in a great deal of effort every minute he was on the floor. While I wasn’t enthralled by his play, I can appreciate the effort. Mohammed was signed to a one year veteran minimum deal last offseason and is now an unrestricted free agent. It is expected that the Bulls will resign Mohammed to another veteran minimum deal likely to be the third string big man behind whoever else they may draft or sign this offseason.

Daequan Cook- D:
When the Bulls signed Daequan Cook they were struggling mightily with their three point shooting. At the time the Bulls were ranked dead last in the league in terms of three point shots attempted and made due to the lack of floor spacers on the roster. Cook, who was supposed to aid in these efforts as a respectable three point shooter, failed to improve Chicago’s status as one of the worst three point shooting teams in the league. Cook is now an unrestricted free agent as he only signed a contract with the team through the rest of the season. It is unknown if the Bulls will look to bring him back or not.

Marquis Teague- N/A:
Like many rookies before him, Marquis Teague barely saw the floor under Tom Thibodeau. Because of this, it is hard to accurately evaluate his performance this past season. However, based off of what we’ve seen in his limited play it’s easy to see what the front office saw in him. He exhibited strong play in many pick-and-roll sets that the Bulls ran with him on the floor, showed good speed, and knows how to get to the hoop. His jump shooting, decision making, and overall defense could use work but that will likely come with time. Teague will be on a rookie deal for another four years making him a Bulls player for a good while.

The post 2012-2013 Player Capsule- Everyone Else appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Previous player capsules can be found here: Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Jimmy Butler, Kirk Hinrich, Taj Gibson, Nate Robinson

Name: Marco Belinelli
Height/Weight: 6’5″ / 192 lbs
Age: 27
NBA Seasons: 6

Regular Season Stats: 73 games, 9.6 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.0 apg, 0.6 spg, 39.5 FG%, 83.9 FT%

Post-Season Stats: 12 games, 11.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.6 apg, 0.4 spg, 41.1 FG%, 87.9 FT%

Season Grade: B-

Recap:
I dont know about other people’s expectations for him, but for me I didn’t expect too much from Marco Belinelli this past season. Having watched him in the past, I knew he was average at best on defense and offensively he was simply a solid role player and didn’t expect him to do much better than he has in the past. Belinelli did not disappoint.

Throughout the season Belinelli continued to play as he had for his previous three teams though there were some fairly unexpected drops in production for him (ex: three point shooting). Overall, Belinelli had a fairly average season by his standards and should receive a C. However, because of his stretch in the middle of the season as a starter when he led Chicago to many victories behind ultra-efficient 20+ point games, I feel compelled to give him a higher grade.

Future:
Belinelli was also signed to a one year deal last offseason which now makes him an unrestricted free agent. Previously Belinelli signed the Mini-Mid Level Exception which paid him approximately $2 million for the season. Given that his play neither improved nor declined, he will likely be valued at the same price. For the time being it’s unclear whether the Bulls will pursue resigning Belinelli in the coming months or if they will look to replace him with a three point shooter from the draft or free agency.

The post 2012-2013 Player Capsule- Marco Belinelli appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Previous player capsules can be found here: Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Jimmy Butler, Kirk Hinrich

Name: Taj Gibson
Height/Weight: 6’9″ / 225 lbs
Age: 27
NBA Seasons: 4

Regular Season Stats: 65 games, 8.0 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.4 spg, 48.5 FG%, 67.9 FT%

Post-Season Stats: 12 games, 6.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 0.3 apg, 0.3 spg, 47.0 FG%, 72.2 FT%

Season Grade: C

Recap:
This season Taj Gibson neither exceeded nor failed to meet the expectations people had for him. Offensively there were no major improvements. Scoring wise he continues to excel around the rim while struggling outside of the paint. His offensive per game numbers also remained relatively consistent. Defensively he continued to bring the same intensity night in and night out and, once again, his per game numbers remained the same. Gibson did experience a drop in most major advanced statistics categories; however this could be attributed to the fact that he was no longer playing along side Omer Asik. The decline can also possibly be attributed to the knee injury he sustained in the second half of the season. Overall, it was a ho-hum season for Gibson.

Future:
Gibson recently secured his long term future with the Bulls by signing a four year extension that will pay him an average of $8.25 million per year for the life of the contract. His role as the backup power forward to Carlos Boozer should remain the same but may change depending on who the Bulls draft this offseason. Personally I’d like to see Gibson moved to backup center and play behind Noah. While he is undersized Gibson is a strong option in the paint. Defensively Gibson is a solid rim defender and offensively he finishes approximately 59.4% of field goal attempts in the paint (versus 30.4% everywhere else). What the Bulls ultimately is yet to be seen.

The post 2012-2013 Player Capsule- Taj Gibson appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Previous player capsules can be found here: Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng, Jimmy Butler

Name: Kirk Hinrich
Height/Weight: 6’3″ / 190 lbs
Age: 32
NBA Seasons: 10

Regular Season Stats: 60 games, 7.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 5.2 apg, 1.1 spg, 37.7 FG%, 71.4 FT%

Post-Season Stats: 4 games, 11.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 5.8 apg, 2.0 spg, 43.2 FG%, 64.3 FT%

Season Grade: C-

Recap:
Before Nate Robinson put the team on his back, the Chicago Bulls’ biggest offseason signing was Kirk Hinrich. Had he simply been an addition to the team I would have had no problem with this. However, in order to attain his services Chicago bid with themselves and ended up trading three point marksman Kyle Korver, who ended up having a monstrous season with the Atlanta Hawks.

Because of the price Chicago paid to get him as well as the fact that Chicago hard capped themselves to get him expectations for Hinrich were set to a higher standard than they normally would have been for a 32 year old. Unfortunately Hinrich failed to live up to these expectations. Offensively, he did create some opportunities for Chicago but failed to get any consistent scoring opportunities for his teammates and could barely muster any offense of his own. Defensively Hinrich did play very physical for the Bulls but was consistently burned by younger guards as they blew by him. It was like watching a moped try to race a Ferrari.

As a whole I was not a fan of Hinrich’s season and felt he didn’t performed up to the level he should have. I would have given him a lower grade, however there is no denying that the Bulls offense did seem to flow better when he was on the floor. Nor can I deny the fact that the Chicago Bulls had a better record with him starting than they did otherwise. For those reasons alone Hinrich passes… barely.

Future:
Hinrich looks like he’ll be a member of the Bulls for one more season. With any luck, Hinrich will spend this season working on his speed as well as his three point shooting.

The post 2012-2013 Player Capsules- Kirk Hinrich appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Previous player capsules can be found here: Joakim Noah, Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng

Name: Jimmy Butler
Height/Weight: 6’7″ / 220 lbs
Age: 23
NBA Seasons: 2

Regular Season Stats: 82 games, 8.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.0 spg, 46.7 FG%, 80.3 FT%

Post-Season Stats: 12 games, 13.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.5 spg, 43.5 FG%, 81.8 FT%

Season Grade: A+

Recap:
Coming into the season very few people predicted Jimmy Butler to make a name for himself this season and even fewer predicted him to burst onto the scene as grandly as he did. On offensive he provided a solid spark for Chicago by creating his own shot, developed a fairly reliable spot up game (particularly the corner three), and ran in circles for 43 minutes per game grabbing offensive boards, cutting to the hoop, or creating enough space for himself for a spot up shot. Defensively, Butler showed his prowess with quick hands, quick feet on rotations, and by making life extremely difficult for superstars such as Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, and Lebron James.

Because Butler came off of the bench for 62 games last season to play an average of 20 minutes per game, Butler’s per game numbers took a hit. When looking at only his per game statistics as a starter, Butler averaged 14.5 points on 45.7% shooting (45.8% from three point range), 7.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. Impressive numbers for a second year player. There is cause for concern that these numbers are inflated with such a small sample size, but analysis of advanced statistics show that this may not be the case.

According to Synergy Sports Technology, Butler averaged 1.02 points per possession (ppp) over the course of the season, good for 39th overall in the league. Further breakdown shows he averaged over 1.0 ppp in spot-up situations, cuts, and possessions in which he secured an offensive rebound and between 0.8 to 0.95 ppp in post up situations and pick & roll plays as both the roll man and ball handler. Not too shabby for someone who had limited experience on the floor.

In laymen’s terms- Butler did extremely well this season.

Future:
Butler took over the starting shooting guard spot during the playoffs and seems to have secured that spot going into the next season. Butler is under a rookie contract for a few more years so unless an irresistible trade offer comes along he’ll be a member of the Bulls for a good while. This offseason Butler will likely work on developing a more consistent offensive game to pair along side Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and Joakim Noah. Should he succeed both he and the Chicago Bulls will flourish.

The post 2012-2013 Player Capsule- Jimmy Butler appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.

Name: Joakim Noah
Height/Weight: 6’11″ / 232 lbs
Age: 28
NBA Seasons: 6

Regular Season Stats: 66 games, 11.9 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 4.0 apg, 2.1 bpg, 48.1 FG%, 75.1 FT%

Post-Season Stats: 12 games, 10.8 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.2 bpg, 43.7 FG%, 64.1 FT%

Season Grade: A-

Recap:
In terms of points and rebounds output Noah’s season ended up being what most people expected it to be. However he outperformed most people’s expectations of him in just about every other regard. In terms of individual play he made large strides in just about every other aspect. One immediately noticeable improvement was with Noah’s passing game as he seemed to benefit from playing with several players skilled at cutting to the rim (ex: Nate Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Marco Belinelli, etc.). In terms of assists, Noah posted a career high 4.0 apg which, had he played four more games on the season, would have tied him with Marc Gasol for most assists per game from a big man in the league. The biggest improvement was seen on defense where Noah posted career highs in both blocks and steals per game. Noah’s improvement on defense had him in contention for defensive player of the year for most of the year until injuries derailed him towards the end of the season. Overall, Noah’s play nabbed him his first selection to an NBA All-Star team.

More importantly Noah ultimately helped lead this rag-tag Bulls team to surpass league expectations. Few had Chicago pegged to be fighting for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference let alone get a solid hold on the fifth seed. Noah’s ability to lead and energize helped this team get behind Tom Thibodeau’s message that Chicago had enough to win.

Future:
Noah’s future is set in stone as he is currently signed with the Bulls through the 2015-2016 season. As for now Noah should take full advantage of vacation to rest his injured foot. Hopefully Noah will also look to use this offseason to work with trainers to improve his body’s strength and conditioning to avoid one of the various lower body injuries that have plagued him these past three seasons, particularly with his foot and ankle. Doing so could be crucial in any future title runs the Bulls look to make.

The post 2012-2013 Player Capsule- Joakim Noah appeared first on Bulls By The Horns.