Bulls likely to bring Joakim Noah off the bench

Joakim Noah's singular focus on helping the Chicago Bulls "win big" this year may involve him accepting a new role.

New head coach Fred Hoiberg deployed Noah with the second unit for a preseason game Tuesday, and it sounds as if that frontcourt configuration is the one the Bulls will enter the regular season employing. Hoiberg sounded as though he likes Noah and Taj Gibson coming off the bench to balance the two units, noting the team has other quality defenders in the starting lineup to possibly help cover up for the defensive limitations of a Nikola Mirotic-Pau Gasol pairing.

"With three perimeter guys that are good defensively with Kirk (Hinrich) and Tony (Snell) and Jimmy (Butler), it's a pretty good lineup," Hoiberg said Tuesday. "And then you come off the bench with Doug (McDermott) and Taj and Jo, it's a good mix I think."

While that mix makes some sense on paper, the games themselves are still played on the floor - and Hoiberg may have to manage minutes and egos carefully when asking a former Defensive Player of the Year to work as a reserve. The chemistry and comfort that the respective frontcourt pairings have shown should help in that regard, and Noah is playing the good soldier publicly.

"Whatever is best for the team," Noah said. "It's not about me right now. It's about this team."

Noah hasn't had the strongest individual preseason, averaging 5.6 points, eight rebounds, and 2.2 assists, while shooting 26.7 percent in five games. But now he's healthy, which was a major focus for him following a "humbling" 2014-15. The 30-year-old averaged 7.2 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 1.1 blocks last season, well below his averages over the previous five years (11.5, 10.8, 3.4, and 1.6, respectively).

In part because of the decline in Noah's play at both ends, the Gibson-Noah frontcourt pairing was the Bulls' worst a season ago:

That wasn't the case when Noah was healthy and dominant in 2013-14, as the Bulls outscored opponents by 7.3 points per-100 possessions with that frontcourt duo.

Meanwhile, there's no word from Hoiberg on whether the cardboard cutout of Brad Miller will be active for opening night.