Being fully healthy for the games is the main objective of the preseason. The right hip injury that forced Max Strus to leave Monday’s preseason against the Chicago Bulls may have prevented the Cleveland Cavaliers from accomplishing that.
It is unclear how serious the injury is. As a seasoned starter like Strus in the preseason, there’s no reason to play through any pain. That may offer you optimism that there isn’t a significant problem. Even so, it would be preferable if no one was injured and had to miss a game. Due to a right knee sprain last season, Strus missed 12 games.
Strus has been a member of the team for two seasons. In the team’s first preseason game, he played for slightly over nine minutes. He finished with two rebounds, two fouls, and an assist without taking any shots. After 70 games, Strus concluded the previous season with an average of 12.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and four assists per game on a.418/.351/.794 shooting split.
After Tuesday, the Cavaliers have three more preseason games left. Before traveling on the road to play the Detroit Pistons and Bulls once more the following week, they play the Indiana Pacers at home on Thursday. On Wednesday, October 23, Cleveland will take on the Toronto Raptors on the road to start the season.
Joakim Noah Says Bulls Purchased Cheap Alcohol for His Retirement Celebration
Throughout his nine seasons with the Chicago Bulls, Joakim Noah gave his all, so you would assume they would go all out for his retirement celebration, but that wasn’t the case. Noah disclosed on the All The Smoke podcast that Derrick Rose had to pay for better drinks even though the Bulls had purchased inexpensive alcohol for the gathering.
Noah recalled, “When I retired with the Bulls, they threw a party, but they were serving me the cheap liquor.” He added, “Pooh (Rose) quietly covered the cost for me without saying a word. That’s just how he is—he does something classy without looking for any recognition. I think all he wants is credit for his gesture, and nothing else.”
Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Bulls, does not look good in this. Reinsdorf’s net worth was $1.7 billion in 2021, the year Noah retired, according to Forbes. It was awful of him to not even get any fine whiskey for the player’s retirement celebration after so much dedication to the squad.
In his nine seasons with the Bulls, Noah averaged 9.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.4 blocks per game after the team selected him with the ninth overall choice in the 2007 NBA Draft. In 2014, he was voted DPOY and placed fourth in the MVP voting.
Reinsdorf ought to have let go of the purse strings for Noah because he was the team’s lifeblood in the early 2010s. Rose’s willingness to pay extra for better drinks is a sign that the quality of what was offered was well below what was expected.
In fairness to Reinsdorf and the Bulls, upon Noah’s retirement, they did at least recognize him in public. They had a “Joakim Noah Night” on October 28, 2021, and at that time, he was named a team ambassador.
The All-Time Bulls Starting Five of Joakim Noah
Noah is one of the standout players to have worn a Bulls jersey over the years. When asked to name his all-time Bulls starting lineup, he gave an interesting response.
“For my all-time Bulls starting five, I’m starting with Derrick Rose at point guard,” Noah said.
“Michael Jordan will be the shooting guard, and the legendary Scottie Pippen will be at small forward.
“At power forward, I’m going with my brother, Luol Deng, from South Sudan. And at center, it’s the big Aussie, Luc Longley. I think he’d fit right in.”
Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan were the obvious choices after they helped the Bulls win six championships in the 1990s. Rose is also a pretty obvious choice because he is the only Bulls player to win MVP outside of Jordan.
Dennis Rodman was one prominent person who was left out. Although I can understand why Noah went with him because they played together, Rodman would undoubtedly win out over Noah in an impartial comparison. He has to be there because he was a key player in the Bulls’ second three-peat. In addition, I would prefer Noah or Artis Gilmore than Luc Longley.
