Out of Knicks' rotation healthy Joakim Noah admits past heights could be past
Joakim Noah
Joakim Noah  sat shirtless Saturday morning inside the United Center  a scar on  his  surgically repaired left shoulder clearly visible.
 Noah  is carrying other wounds — some self-inflicted and some not  some visible and some not.
Just three-plus years removed from a dominant season with the Bulls in which  he  won Defensive Player of the Year and finished fourth in the MVP voting   Noah   in  his  second season of a four-year  $72 million deal with the Knicks  is out of the rotation — active some nights  inactive most.
That included the humbling moment of sitting in street clothes Saturday night in the building that used to resonate with cheers of “MVP!” and “ Noah !”  inactive once again.
“Probably not ”  Noah  said quickly and honestly when asked if  he  can reach  his  Bulls levels again. “But for me  it’s not about that. I’m trying to get back on the court.
This is what pains  Noah  the most. The ultimate team player  he is trying to balance being healthy and inactive  remaining competitive while in a cheering-from-the-sidelines role.
Like close friend Derrick Rose   Noah ’s fall from grace has included injuries.  Noah   who had knee and left shoulder surgery while with the Bulls  spent all summer rehabbing his right shoulder after surgery repaired a torn rotator cuff. He also served a 20-game suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug policy  taking a banned over-the-counter supplement late last season.
Unlike Rose  who recently took a leave of absence from the Cavaliers to ponder his future in basketball   Noah  sounds as committed as ever.
“It was hard man ”  Noah  said. “It was two years in a row  two different shoulder injuries. But I worked really hard this summer to be able to come back and be on the court after all the injuries that I had. By March  I had a knee and a shoulder (hurt). I wasn’t feeling too good.
 Noah  logged more minutes in one game with the Westchester Knicks of the Gatorade League than in  his  11 with the NBA Knicks. Coach Jeff Hornacek and general manager Scott Perry said  Noah  has remained professional and worked hard on conditioning while accepting  his  demotion  brought on by  his  injuries  suspension and four centers on the roster.
“When you’re used to playing a certain way  and you saw it a little bit with Derrick Rose  it’s tough. But ( Noah  is) a professional.  He  has worked hard. Sure  everybody wants to play and compete  but I think  he  understands.”
Thunder coach Billy Donovan  who coached  Noah  to two NCAA tournament titles at Florida  knows the proud player as well as anyone.
“ He ’s a team guy   he ’s a winner and  he  struggles when  he  can’t impact a group ” Donovan said in an interview last month. “ He  also loves New York because  he  grew up there and has a sense of obligation that  he  doesn’t want to let anybody down.”
And so  Noah  pushes on  trying to stay positive while  his  competitive fire burns within.
“I feel great ”  Noah  said. “I think that extra time (from the suspension) was a blessing. I could really focus on my body. The suspension also put things in perspective for me. I had to change some things in my life  get organized.
[TGT]sat shirtless Saturday morning inside the United Center  a scar on  [TGT]  surgically repaired left shoulder clearly visible.
 [TGT]is carrying other wounds — some self-inflicted and some not  some visible and some not.
Just three-plus years removed from a dominant season with the Bulls in which  he  won Defensive Player of the Year and finished fourth in the MVP voting   Noah   in  his  second season of a four-year  $72 million deal with the Knicks  is out of the rotation — active some nights  inactive most.
That included the humbling moment of sitting in street clothes Saturday night in the building that used to resonate with cheers of “MVP!” and “ Noah !”  inactive once again.
“Probably not ”  [TGT]said quickly and honestly when asked if  [TGT]  can reach  [TGT]  Bulls levels again. “But for me  it’s not about that. I’m trying to get back on the court.
This is what pains  [TGT]. The ultimate team player  he is trying to balance being healthy and inactive  remaining competitive while in a cheering-from-the-sidelines role.
Like close friend Derrick Rose   Noah ’s fall from grace has included injuries.  Noah   who had knee and left shoulder surgery while with the Bulls  spent all summer rehabbing his right shoulder after surgery repaired a torn rotator cuff. He also served a 20-game suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug policy  taking a banned over-the-counter supplement late last season.
Unlike Rose  who recently took a leave of absence from the Cavaliers to ponder his future in basketball   [TGT]sounds as committed as ever.
“It was hard man ”  [TGT]said. “It was two years in a row  two different shoulder injuries. But I worked really hard this summer to be able to come back and be on the court after all the injuries that I had. By March  I had a knee and a shoulder (hurt). I wasn’t feeling too good.
 [TGT]logged more minutes in one game with the Westchester Knicks of the Gatorade League than in  [TGT]  11 with the NBA Knicks. Coach Jeff Hornacek and general manager Scott Perry said  [TGT]has remained professional and worked hard on conditioning while accepting  [TGT]  demotion  brought on by  [TGT]  injuries  suspension and four centers on the roster.
“When you’re used to playing a certain way  and you saw it a little bit with Derrick Rose  it’s tough. But ( [TGT]is) a professional.  [TGT]  has worked hard. Sure  everybody wants to play and compete  but I think  [TGT]  understands.”
Thunder coach Billy Donovan  who coached  [TGT]knows the proud player as well as anyone.
“ [TGT] ’s a team guy   [TGT] ’s a winner and  [TGT]  struggles when  [TGT]  can’t impact a group ” Donovan said in an interview last month. “ He  also loves New York because  he  grew up there and has a sense of obligation that  he  doesn’t want to let anybody down.”
And so  [TGT]pushes on  trying to stay positive while  [TGT]  competitive fire burns within.
“I feel great ”  [TGT]said. “I think that extra time (from the suspension) was a blessing. I could really focus on my body. The suspension also put things in perspective for [TGT]. I had to change some things in my life  get organized.