Joakim Noah: Defense
Joakim Noah is certainly a daunting rim protector in his own right, but it’s his versatility that intrigues. Since the Bulls traded away Luol Deng on Jan. 7, they had the best defensive team in the league, anchored by none other than Joakim Noah. His agility and lateral quickness mixed with his nearly 7’0″ verticality was like an incendiary bomb hurled at opposing offenses.
"“Noah will often make four or five defensive plays on one possession, utilizing his high basketball IQ to process Thibodeau’s complex system, and using his rare agility to adapt to what the offense is doing— whether it’s rotating, switching, icing, cutting off passing lanes or challenging shots. Rarely is there a defensive possession with Noah’s defensive presence not felt.” — Bleacher Report’s Kelly Scalleta."
His ceaseless activity on defense puts pressure on the entire offense. He switches out to guards and wings on the perimeter to prevent penetration and to cut off passing lanes while recovering quickly enough to challenge shots at the basket. Despite being a mobile defender, Noah was still able to reoccupy the painted area and protect the basket more effectively than Dwight Howard last season, as displayed in the chart below (courtesy of NBA.com).
| Player | %FGA | Rank 1 | FG% | Rank 2 |
| Roy Hibbert | 28.3% | 4 | 41.7% | 1 |
| Andrew Bogut | 27.5% | 1 | 45.5% | 7 |
| Joakim Noah | 29.6% | 13 | 46.1% | 8 |
| Dwight Howard | 30.7% | 24 | 47.8% | 13 |
%FGA = Percentage of opponent shots taken from the restricted area with player on the floor.
Rank 1 = Among 72 bigs who have been on the floor for at least 2,000 opponent shots.
FG% = Opponent’s field goal percentage at the rim while player is defending it.
Rank 2 = Among 58 players who have defended at least 5.0 shots at the rim per game for at least 50 games.
Heavy dependence on one’s athleticism to succeed on the court limits his or her capabilities. Contrarily, harnessing a variety of skills and utilizing ones basketball acumen reaps the adaptability required to maximize a player’s fullest potential, which Joakim Noah illustrates on a game-to-game basis.