Noah's development on full display after monster performance

AUBURN HILLS, MICH.His 30 points and 23 rebounds jump off of the stat sheet, but according to Joakim Noah, he didnt do anything different in Friday nights 108-104 win over the Pistons, the 16th consecutive win in the storied rivalry for the Bulls, at The Palace at Auburn Hills.

Noah, with one of his mentors, retired former Piston and ex-Bull Ben Wallace watching courtside, set career-highs in both aforementioned categoriesto go along with six assists and two blocked shotshad the most dominant game of his six NBA seasons.

Body Wallaces nickname, thats my vet and to have him there, that means a lot. I learned a lot from him and even though we lost a lot of games, we spent a lot of time together. Thats my big, and he was the guy that really taught me a lot, him and Brad Miller, Drew Gooden. Those are my vets, so shout-out to my vets, an exhausted Noah said afterwards before revealing the postgame advice Wallace, a renowned rebounder and legendary defensive player gave him. He said I should have more rebounds and more points. He said I should have had 35. Hes a hater. Hes a hater, but thats why I love him. Im a hater, too.

It feels great to play well and to win. Weve just got another one tomorrow, so cant get too happy, even though its crazy to have numbers like that. But you know what? Im happy we won and just got to move on, he continued. I knew I was missing a lot of tips in the beginning of the game. In some arenas, they count as rebounds. In some other arenas, they dont. So Im happy they counted.

Noah might have shrugged off his remarkable outing, but his teammates and even Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau didnt. They knew that they were witnessing something special.

Played really well in every area: Defense, rebounding, scoring, passing, playmaking, mental toughness, digging down, got us out of a hole. Great all-around game, Thibodeau said. He was everywhere. It was a great all-around game, every facet of the game. His scores, his multiple-effort rebounds, his playmakinghe and Lu got going, some cutting-type action, two-man gameso he had a great rhythm going, played big minutes. Played hard every minute.

Carlos Boozer, who wasnt too shabby himself with 24 pointson identical shooting numbers to Noah, 12-of-19 from the floorchimed in: Unbelievable. I told him, Thats some Shaq-type numbers, because we needed every rebound, we needed every point and he gave it to us. Jos one of those guys that always works hard. People dont give him enough credit. He busts his butt every day to work on his game. People dont understand how talented he really is because everybody thinks hes just a defender, but he goes hard, man. Hes in the gym early working on his game, in the gym late working on his game. You guys come in after our practice is over, you see him going through his routine. Hes a hard worker, man. I know the numbers were astronomical tonight, but hes been playing great really all season, to be quite frank.

Luol Deng, who had a quietly effective, 16 points, six assists and five rebounds joked: We did that on purpose. We were missing shots. I told him Id miss a lot of shots, so he could get his rebounding up. I just didnt know he was going to finish them.

Then, turning seriously, Noahs longtime teammate added: Seriously though, he deserves it. Jos been playing well all season and a game like this just lets people know how hard he works. Tonight, he was rebounding every ball, his energy was unbelievable and probably the best game of his career. Actually, you know what? Theres some games where he played really well. Its up there. The stats are just unbelievable in this game, but Jo just plays with a lot of energy.

Perhaps more significant than Noahs numbers was, as Boozer mentioned, the fact that he had those kind of statistics in a close game. The Bulls didnt play their usual brand of defense at the outset, allowing the Pistons to have a 30-point opening period, then fell behind by 17 in the second quarter before Noah truly asserted his will on the contest.

I just felt like just our energy was low from the start of the game. Were playing a lot of games in a short amount of time, so its just human reaction when theres not a lot of people in the stands to kind of put your guard down. But I think we regrouped pretty well and it was a hard-fought win, the charismatic center said before referring specifically to the deficit the Bulls faced after, to paraphrase Thibodeau, digging a hole for themselves. Oh, that was huge, huge, huge. I think we were down 17 and we got it down to five pretty fast, so that was definitely big for us. It gave us a lot of momentum.

Kirk Hinrich added: Its huge. When you see a teammate going like thatyou dont want to be letting your teammates down anywaybut when you see a guy going like that, with that type of energy and playing with that kind of heart, you definitely dont want to be not giving it your all, as well.

Hinrich, now in his second stint with the Bulls, has seen Noah develop from a strictly energy player to an underrated offensive talent and arguably the most versatile center in the league.

He plays with that kind of energy, activity. Hes much more talented than people give him credit for. He can handle, he can pass, he can score inside, he can drive guys, using his quickness and energy a lot of times, so Im not surprised. Hes very capable of having big nights, he explained. Yeah, probably number-wise it was the best game of Noahs career, but the thing about Jo is his energy is there every night and he goes to the board every time, and when you do that and youre as talented as he is, youre bound to have some nights like this.

Deng concurred: He has a knack. A lot of people dont think hes good offensively, but he is. It might not look smooth, but thats his game. His hook is different, his jump shot is different, his driving game is different for a big manalways drives away from the basket, but get those shotsits just his game. He just works hard and its still a long season, but hes just got to keep it up.

Even the perfection-driven Thibodeau couldnt deny how much of an offensive force Noah is becoming.

Its in him. I think hes got to continue to push himself. I think he can do a lot better than hes doing right now, the coach acknowledged. Hes worked at his game, but theres still things that I think he can get to that he hasnt gotten to yet.

As for Noah himself, he still sees himself as the same type of player, but he admitted that with all of the work hes put into rounding out his game, hes now worthy of consideration for more widespread recognition.

To be honest with you, I dont think that my game has changed that much. Im just more comfortable knowing where I can be effective, how to get my hooks off and Im feeling a lot more comfortable shooting the ball, too. So, Im just more comfortable on the court and I work hard on my game, he explained, before answering the inevitable follow-up question. Do I want to be an All-Star? Yeah, I want to be an All-Star, but I try not to think about it or play to be an All-Star. I try to play for my teammates and try to affect winning. I think that when you start worrying about individual accolades, I think it takes away from team and this is a team game.

Deng, who emphatically proclaimed him the best center in the Eastern Conference weeks ago, supported his good friends case, armed with the knowledge, as a first-time All-Star himself last season, that it sometimes takes a while for observers to notice contributions from players who dont always put up gaudy scoring numbers: I think he should. Its up to the coaches, what they pick, but when you talk about us, Im sure a lot of teams, when they scout us, theyre talking about Jos energy and how huge that is for our team, and keeping him off the boards. Hes just got to keep it up, stay consistent and after that, he cant control that. That just happens.

For now, however, Noah is only concerned about the immediate future.

Im happy were 2-0 on the road trip and it feels good to play well. Thats why you work hard on your game, is to play well and to help the team. Sometimes its your night and sometimes it isnt, he said. As long as we look at the big picturewe have a big game coming upand cant get too high, cant get too low, stay focused and get ready for the Knickerbockers.