Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah joined the United Center faithful as spectators in the fourth quarter of the Bulls 78-64 win over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
It was the second consecutive game in which Chicago’s starting frontline were glued to the bench as the reserve tandem of Omer Asik and Taj Gibson provided the defense and neccessary energy that helped closed their opponents out in the final game of a three-games-in-three-night’s stretch.
“I think it’s tough but at the same time, we’re winning,” said Noah who finished with four points and four rebounds in 19 minutes of action against Washington. “I just have to find a way to be more effective. It’s nothing personal but I understand we’re playing great basketball. Omer is playing great, Taj is playing great but I just have to find a way, when I’m out there, to affect winning.”
Noah strained his left thumb in the first half but returned in the second half to play seven minutes before being seated in the fourth.
He’s averaging seven points, seven rebounds and one block this season but has seemed like half the player he was at the start of last season where he was widely considered an All-Star.
He has struggled catching the ball and corralling loose balls with the frequency that he’s used to and appears to be frustrated with his individual play.
Boozer scored frou points, pulled down six rebounds and went 2 of 6 from the field in 26 minutes on Wednesday.
Against a very thin Wizards frontline, no Derrick Rose and having only played 23 minutes in Minnesota the night before, one would have expected a bounce-back game from the veteran power forward, but he has seemed more content to roam on the perimeter than being aggressive in the low post and his individual and team defense still has left much to be desired.
While Boozer is saying all the right things about his the benching’s in the fourth, you have to wonder at what point does his psyche become effected as it's almost becoming anticipated that he's out of games in the decisive quarter.
“That’s just Thibs’ decision,” said Boozer of Thibodeau’s choice of Gibson over him for the second straight night. “As long as we keep winning, everybody is happy.”
So far, so good.
“You just go with how the matchups are going, how the game is going, ” said Thibodeau. “We had a six-point lead [going into the fourth] and you know you can pretty much have lockdown defense with [Omer and Taj] on the floor and I thought we could win it with our defense.”
While that appears to be the case and every win is important in the abbreviated season, it’s important to point out that the last two opponents were still the Minnesota Timber Wolves (3-7) and the Wizards (1-9).
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