Joakim Noah had a rotten first year as a New York Knicks big man. That’s the consensus of everyone who’s not Noah’s financial adviser. (Noah inked a 4-year $72 million deal before the season.) The results haven’t been good: the playoff-missing Knicks were once again a lousy team, the once indefatigable Noah got hurt, played in just 46 games, and then got a 20-game suspension for a banned substance. But…
A careful look at what a chronically hurt Noah still managed to do on the court should give hope in some measure. Despite playing just 22 minutes per game, Noah grabbed 8.7 rebounds. Though he took only 4.3 shots, Noah’s FG% was .495 — so it wasn’t as if his unorthodox shot wasn’t working. Sure, Noah was a disaster from the free throw line at .436, but the sample size was tiny. Usually a valuable defender Noah’s defensive rating was a regrettable 111.0, up precipitously from his career averages. But the Knicks as a team played bad defense, leaving Noah vulnerable in a way unfamiliar to the guy who charged up Chicago’s bullish defense under Tom Thibodeau. If Noah’s knee recovers well from surgery, he has game left. $46 million worth of game? No way to know.
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