Center Joakim Noah has returned for the Chicago Bulls since suffering a shoulder injury last month and played two games already, but the veteran has yet to find his groove on offense.
In Noah's first game back last Monday, he was scoreless going 0-of-seven from the field in 19 minutes of action off the bench, but scored nine rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
The Bulls ended up losing to the Washington Wizards at 114–110, their second consecutive defeat.
Because of Noah's return and rookie big man Bobby Portis standing out during his absence, Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg discussed the possibility of other players not getting as much minutes because of the current rotation.
Noah played his second game last Tuesday since returning from the shoulder injury and saw 15 minutes of action versus the Milwaukee Bucks, again as a member of the second unit.
The 30-year-old center had three points in one-of-three shooting from the field, also having seven rebounds and two assists.
Chicago again lost, falling to the Bucks at 106–101, its third straight defeat which sent them from the second spot in the tight Eastern Conference standings to the fourth spot with a 22–15 record.
The struggle is real for Noah and the Bulls. In the former's absence, the team had a winning run that made it the second best team in the East.
But so far in his comeback, the team dropped two consecutive games and lost the chance to catch up with the Cavs for the lead in the conference.
Because of these struggles, there is no wonder why Noah is being involved in trade rumors and talks, since the trade period began last month.
Noah is still an efficient player but with young and more productive big men stepping up for Chicago, it seems like the team no longer needs his services and he might soon don a different jersey before the regular season ends.
