Noah comes out on top in matchup vs. Varejao

CLEVELANDPrior to Wednesday nights win over the Cavaliers, Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau spoke in glowing terms about Cleveland center Anderson Varejao, the leagues leading rebounder on the young NBA regular season.Varejao is playing off the charts. Those rebounding numbers are staggering. I think over the last five games, its 19 rebounds a game, 18 points, so hes scoring, too. Its not just the rebounds. Scoring, playmaking, toughness, just doing so many different things. Jos going to have his hands full, but not just Jo. Thats the responsibility of the entire team. Hes very active. Hes going to make you pay for mistakes. If his guy goes to help, youve got to make sure youre sinking to the body and hes relentless. He never stops going and those are the type of guys who always rebound big. Just like a shooter gets into rhythm, he gets into rhythm and the more you go, the more you get and hes proving that, he gushed.
An underrated aspect of Varejaos game is his playmaking. He can really pass the ball. Hes clever. He can go from a dribble handoff to a pass and follow. He can slip screens. You can tell hes been around. He has all the tricks.Of course, Thibodeau has a very similar playerdown to their eclectic hairstylesin Joakim Noah, a premier rebounder, top-notch defender, underrated passer and probably a superior offensive talent to his Brazilian counterpart in Cleveland. When the two players, likely vying with each other for a spot on the Eastern Conference All-Star teamalthough a familiar face in Chicago, former Bull and current Knicks center Tyson Chandler, the reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year, also has an excellent chance and plays for a team with a better record at the momentmatched up Wednesday, not only did Noahs Bulls come out on top, he equaled Varejao in rebounding at 15 boards apiece, blocked two shots to the Cavs centers zero and outscored his opponent, 13-11, holding Clevelands man in the middle to 4-of-16 shooting from the field.Afterwards, Thibodeau didnt exactly change his tunehes not the type of coach to downgrade an opposing teams playerbut while he showed Varejao a lot of respect, he also gave Noah credit for a job well done, though making sure to put the teams performance first.Its a great matchup, but its more what the teams are doing, so its not a one-on-one game and I thought Jo, overall, his defense was good, his rebounding was good, the playmaking was good and thats the big thing, he said. You tip your hat to Varejao. The guy never takes a possession off, relentless and the thing is, even though he didnt shoot the ball particularly well, (he) never changed his demeanor or the way he was competing. He keeps going, he never stops. Ive got a lot of respect for the way he plays.Noah echoed the coachs sentiments about the matchup: Tough player. He rebounds the ball real well. Hes a hard-playing dude. Got to give credit where credit is due. Varejao is a great player.Do I like playing against him? No, he continued. I dont like playing against him. Every time the ball goes up, hes always going to the glass, he never takes a play off. Hes just a hard-playing dude, good dude, too. I really respect him on and off the court. His brothers Sandro, who played at West Virginia in the 90s a friend of mine. Brazilians are usually pretty cool people.