NBA 2015-16: Top 5 players expected to bounce back this season

#4 Joakim Noah

The Chicago Bulls need the Joakim Noah that won the Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 to show up.

A knee surgery that Joakim Noah underwent last summer took longer than expected to heal and had an adverse effect on the 2014 NBA Defensive Player of the Year’s season. It’s easy to point out his disappointing season after observing his averages from last year but those don’t tell the whole story. The Noah last season was nothing close to the one we had seen two or three seasons before that.

His feet movement was not the same, his minutes were restricted, he wasn’t himself activity-wise on the glass. The Bulls do not need big number production from Noah yet his role is a crucial cog in Chicago’s engine. There are very few centers who can contribute on both ends of the floor like he can – maybe Marc Gasol is the closest.

He is a physical player who can be a pest as a post defender and also as a center who can switch onto smaller guards for a few possessions along the perimeter. On the other end, his ball handling, court vision and finishing at the rim are crucial qualities the Bulls need him to show off this season.

Last may he was ranked fourth in the regular season MVP ranking, that’s how valuable he can be but this season it’s all about health. In fact, the same can be said for the entire Bulls roster. If they can stay healthy come Playoff time they have a team capable of beating anybody in a 7 game Playoff series.