Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah left Monday’s game against the Brooklyn Nets near the end of the third quarter, and he will not return. He suffered what head coach Fred Hoiberg called a shoulder sprain, and appeared to be in serious pain.
Noah contested Andrea Bargnani’s shot, and Bargnani’s elbow appeared to catch Noah in the shoulder. Noah immediately grabbed his shoulder and yelled in pain, then he left the court. Hoiberg told reporters that Noah would be re-evaluated on Tuesday, and it’s too early to know whether or not it’s serious, via ESPN’s Nick Friedell.
Loosing Noah for any amount of time would be bad news for the Bulls. He had 21 points and 10 rebounds on Saturday against the New York Knicks, and he’s Chicago’s best defensive big man.
Bulls fans have been clamoring for rookie power forward Bobby Portis to play more minutes. That might happen now, but no one wanted it to be a result of something like this.
