TWO BITS: Noah out 10 weeks, Greene’s mistakes

By Adam Silverstein
December 16, 2010

1 » It looks like the Chicago Bulls fright over center Joakim Noah‘s thumb was justified. One day after sources told ESPNChicago.com that Noah could miss at least eight weeks with a possible torn ligament in his right thumb, their suspicions became reality. After starting and posting a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds in Chicago’s 110-93 victory over Toronto on Wednesday, Noah was notified that he will miss up to 10 weeks as he will undergo surgery Thursday to repair a torn ulna collateral ligament in the thumb. Noah, who signed a five-year, $60 million contract extension before the season started, is averaging 14.2 points and 11.7 rebounds per game this season. “I’ve had the exact same surgery before on my left hand. It sucks,” Noah said. “It’s not what I want, but you can’t … I’ve [played] through it for a couple weeks now and I got to get back to playing at a high level.” He has been playing with the injured finger since Nov. 27.

In related news… Miami Heat power forward Udonis Haslem will likely miss the entire season after tearing a ligament in his left foot back in Nov. The team recently received a salary exception for his contract this season. Teammate guard/forward Mike Miller is slowly on his way back to the Heat after breaking his thumb during practice in Oct.

2 » Former Florida Gators point guard and Gainesville, FL, native Orien Greene bleeped-up one too many times for the NBA. A staunch defender who is currently averaging 23 points (on 52 percent shooting, 48 percent from downtown), five rebounds and five assists per game for the Utah Flash of the NBA D-League, he is someone who should be playing on a prime time stage if not for a number of character flaws that have arisen over the years. Will a team give him chance? Can someone who has realized their mistakes get yet another shot at redemption? Perhaps in time. For now, Greene can only hope. “Lord willing, lord willing, somebody’s going to call me and I can get back in,” he told ESPN’s Henry Abbott, who wrote this feature story on a once very promising young basketball player.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

One Comment

  1. Basshole says:

    Hate to say it but it doesn’t surprise me about Greene, I feel like his breaking Nelson’s face right before the NCAA tournament derailed the team at the worst possible time. Not just the physical injury, but the tension it caused with the team really hurt.

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