Ron Adams, somewhat endearingly, calls it “the accident.” Joakim Noah, almost angrily, refers to it as “the incident.”
No matter its name, there’s little question the Jan. 11 encounter in which Noah upbraided the assistant coach at a shootaround in Philadelphia has affected the energetic rookie.
The incident drew a one-game suspension from management for Noah, and a second game was tacked on when his teammates voted to extend the punishment. Two months later, Noah says it “embarrassed me and my family.”
His brief media boycott in the aftermath of the incident, as well as a Jan. 15 episode when he called out Ben Wallace for snickering after a loss, revealed only part of Noah’s frustration.
Those who see him every day say Noah’s unfocused ways and habitual tardiness have diminished considerably since then.
“Without question his focus has improved,” Adams said. “That’s manifested in him developing a certain professionalism. But what I want to stress is that since he has been a Bull, his play and his whole being has been about helping us win. I don’t think that was any different before or after the accident.
“For these rookies who come in, especially someone like Joakim who had tremendous success in college, it’s a shock. Because the pom-pons are gone. And I think he has adjusted well through a tough period. His growth has been a steady upward plane.”
Interim coach Jim Boylan concurs.
That’s why it didn’t take a mind reader to know Noah was one of the players to whom Boylan was referring when he repeatedly said, in the wake of several recent unprofessional acts, that many Bulls were serious about their craft.
“He has made a lot of strides,” Boylan said. “He’s focusing better on what he needs to do, time management, things like that. And we’re very pleased with his development as a player.”
Since general manager John Paxson traded Ben Wallace and Joe Smith, making Noah, by default, the starting center, the Bulls are 5-6. Noah has averaged 8.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 27.4 minutes.
Noah, who spent a holiday with Adams and remains close to him, is blunt about his starting stint.
“I’ve played all right, but I’m too inconsistent,” he said. “I think I’ve played pretty well defensively. But when I have opportunities to finish around the basket, I need to be more aggressive.
“But I think I’ve played my role well. And I’m not forcing shots. I’m trying to play within what I can do for the team and trying to affect winning.”
That final word has been associated often with Noah, who won two NCAA tournament titles while at Florida. His calling out of Wallace, whom he calls a close friend, speaks to it as well.
There’s an old adage that, with 82 games, NBA players can’t take losing as hard as they might have in college because with games coming so rapidly, mood swings would affect them. Noah ponders this theory.
“I think the reason people take it lighter is one loss doesn’t make that much of a drastic change because there are so many more games,” he said. “But it really, really does bother me, I can’t lie.
“I talk about it with my family. They tell me I have to calm down. But that’s just the way I am. Winning or losing really decides my mood. Winning is all that should matter to anybody.”
Noah said he believes this to the point that he would give up his starting spot if it helped the team win. Not that he doesn’t enjoy starting.
“In the beginning of my career, I had no idea if I was coming in the game or not,” Noah said. “You’d have a good game, then the next game you’d feel like you’re going to play and you didn’t play. It was definitely frustrating.
“But a lot of people go through it. I don’t care how strong you are mentally, there’s definitely a difference the way you approach the game when you’re starting.”
Noah didn’t practice Wednesday, an excused absence to attend to a personal matter that the team had known about for weeks.
Given the rash of unexcused absences of late, skepticism could reign. But Noah appears past that.
Look for him and his intensity at Thursday’s practice.
Layups
Thabo Sefolosha, limping noticeably in the postgame locker room Tuesday, skipped practice Wednesday. Boylan called the guard’s sore groin “a concern.” … The Bulls, who are a half-game behind New Jersey for the final playoff spot in the East, will practice on consecutive days for the first time since Jan. 9 and 10. … Drew Gooden, a veteran of four teams, characterized recent off-the-court distractions as “minor … stuff teams deal with all the time.”
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kcjohnson@tribune.com
