Bulls C Noah returns from left shoulder injury

Bulls center Joakim Noah returned from a shoulder injury on Monday night against Washington, providing another option for coach Fred Hoiberg heading into a busy stretch.

Yet the defensive intensity that defined the Bulls’ early-season victories continued to be AWOL.

Marcin Gortat, prideful in his durability to a fault, looked down at his swollen left knee Monday morning at a chilly United Center and begrudgingly admitted the Washington Wizards would probably be without his services later against the Chicago Bulls.

What seems to infuriate Hoiberg more than nearly anything is the fact that for the second game in a row the Bulls got down big early, a 15-point deficit late in the second quarter, and couldn’t get back on track.

Somehow the Bulls still lead the National Basketball Association in opponents’ field-goal percentage.

“We battled tonight”, coach Randy Wittman said. “It’s beyond me how that could happen”.

The second half wasn’t much better, as Noah played another nine minutes, missed another five shots, but did finish the game with nine rebounds and four assists. But he stayed in the game well after that. Hoiberg is poised to give rookie Bobby Portis more minutes as the season progresses, which could make Noah a dispensable asset for the Bulls before the deadline.

The Wizards, second in the league in fast-break points per 100 possessions, imposed their style immediately.

In Chicago’s 108-81 win over the New York Knicks on January 1, for example, Portis hit plus-30 when he scored 16 points (on 6-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-3 from downtown and a ideal 2-of-2 in free throws), 10 rebounds and 2 assists.

Derrick Rose’s 23 points led the Bulls. But offense means little if you can’t guard. “The guys on the bench talk more than the guys on the floor for whatever reason”. The injury thus became timely for the Bulls to see if anyone could perform better than Noah. The big man sprained his shoulder in that game while trying to make a play on a driving Andrea Bargnani, and he was expected to miss two-to-four weeks.

The Bulls have gauged the market, with most of the activity centered on Noah, sources said.

Noah deserves credit for all of that, but that still hasn’t stopped the Bulls from making and taking calls on trade possibilities for Noah, according to multiple sources.

“I’m just playing my role”, Portis said. “The only thing I’m anxious about is controlling what I can control and that’s me coming in every day and working as hard as I can”.