Pistol Jo

I rarely discuss my work life on here, but it has a bearing on this post.  Last night, I was given the task of creating a chart regarding Joakim Noah's career performance Friday in Detroit.  Consider the line he turned in:  30 points, 23 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks.  Never before in his six NBA seasons had he registered higher scoring or rebounding numbers.  According to basketball-reference.com, only five other players since the 1985-86 season (the earliest the box scores on that site go back) have posted those numbers in a single game.  The last to it was Kevin Garnett, whose performance came exactly nine years and two days prior.  Rounding out this elite list are Dirk Nowitzki, Charles Barkley, Joe Barry Carroll and Charles Oakley during his rookie year with the Bulls.  In that time, there have been 22 instances of a 30-23 game with 2 steals and 30 of one of 2 blocks.  Both are obviously bigger numbers, but you get the idea of how rare you see a game like that from Noah just a few nights ago.

If you didn't believe it before, and you might want to re-evaluate your status as a fan if that was the case, you can certainly say now that Noah is on his way to the best year of his career.  Even before the season began, there was a lot of talk that this could finally be the season Noah nets his first All-Star bid.  I don't see much reason to doubt that these days.  He's well on his way to playing with the best in the league in a couple of months.  He may not put up double-double numbers every night, but you'll see that kind of performance more often than not, pistol signs and all.  As I've said many times before, the energy he consistently brings make him the heart and soul of this club.  Without him, the Bulls would easily be below .500.

I'll take this opportunity to once again be glad I didn't jump on the anti-Noah bandwagon in the time before his playoff dunk over Paul Pierce.  I was probably being unreasonable then, but as I tend to do, I held out hope that this particular player would be of immense value to the Bulls eventually.  It was probably because of his role in Florida winning back-to-back national titles.  My optimism for certain guys fails more often than not, but I'm happy this one paid off.  Hate to tell certain people I told you so, but...well, you get the picture.

The next opportunity for Noah's magic comes Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.  8:30 is a late start for a home game, but that's likely to accommodate ESPN's schedule.  That's right.  Lob City is visiting the Windy City.  Despite a rash of injuries and recent lack of success at the United Center against the Clippers (they've lost 9 of 11), I truly believe this will be an entertaining game.  The Bulls themselves are on high ground with their first three-game winning streak of the year.  The Clippers have won six straight, so someone's run will be cut short.  Can Noah win the battle with DeAndre Jordan at center?  Will he challenge Blake Griffin?  The nation will be watching to find out.  Hope you will too.