Why the Noah Injury Isn't That Big of a Deal ...

[Editor's Note: As most BBS readers are aware, Kmart Dan and I are in a very competitive fantasy basketball league with a lot of smart people. Our league commissioner, Big Fil, is a huge Bulls fan and a very knowledgeable NBA fan. Today on the league message boards, he posted some great thoughts on the announcement of Noah's surgery.]


Noah is going to be out 8-10 weeks, which sucks, but is it really that big of a deal? I don't think so, and dare I say in some ways, it could actually be beneficial.

1. The Bulls are getting the 4 seed with or without Noah -

They have already opened up a 5 game lead in the central, despite not having Boozer for the majority of the season, and playing the leagues hardest schedule. Only the Lakers have a bigger lead in their division (6 games) of any division leading team. Could we have possibly gotten the 3 seed? Probably not, but even if they could, does the 3 or 4 seed really matter? Celtics, Heat, Magic, who cares?! You're gonna have to play 2 of them regardless.

2. Taj Gibson -

He will be asked to play a lot more minutes. A young player's confidence is extremely important to their development. Now that Taj will be asked to play major minutes, he will get the necessary experience needed, so when playoff time comes around he'll have the reps needed when he is called upon.

3. Boozer and Rose -

This gives them some serious time to gel, as they will have to work together and get their pick-and-roll game down. It's clear that they are the Bulls' 2 best players now, and they have to find that chemistry to make them as effective as Boozer and D-Will were in Utah. Noah wasn't necessarily blocking that, but now this HAS to happen, and Thibs knows it.

4. Noah will come back with 25+ games left in the season -

There will be some chemistry issues, no doubt, and Noah will need to work himself back into game shape, but with almost 2 full months left in the season, he will still have plenty of time to get acclimated back into the team. He'll be fully rested, and like everyone says: you want to be playing your best late in the year.

Like I said, it sucks that Noah is out 8-10 weeks, because he makes watching Bulls games so much fun. I think he had a legit chance to make the All-Star team, which would have been great for his confidence, but ultimately its really not that big of a deal.