Larry Brown Sports

Chris Bosh chewed out teammate Mario Chalmers late in the third quarter of Game 3 between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls, much to Joakim Noah’s delight.

The discord between Bosh and Chalmers seemed to begin after Chalmers turned over the ball on offense. Chalmers was trying to drive the lane and then looked to pass when he encountered multiple defenders. He turned it over on an errant pass in Bosh’s direction.

On the next possession, Jimmy Butler backed down Chalmers and dished to Taj Gibson for a layup and foul. Before Gibson went to the line, Bosh lit into Chalmers. Noah came over after a few seconds and gave a bunch of claps, clearly pleased that the Heat teammates were bickering.

GIF via @CJZero
Video via @BlazersEdge

Goodness gracious, woman. Get a hold of yourself. I guess the environment of being at a Miami Heat-Chicago Bulls playoff game made her think it was acceptable to shove her fist within inches of Joakim Noah’s face and flip him the bird.

You wonder why some players go off on fans after games? This is why.

Just after, she celebrated Noah being ejected with this high five:

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Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah were ejected from Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night after arguing calls.

Gibson seemed to be upset about two calls in a row in the fourth quarter, including what appeared to be a goaltend by Chris Andersen on the previous possession. The refs probably weren’t as concerned with small calls since the Bulls were down by 35 points at the time.

After the missed goaltending call, Ray Allen drove, made a layup, and a foul was called on Marquis Teague, who barely touched him. Noah was on the bench at the time of the foul and began arguing it. He came off the bench to protest and was assessed his second technical foul (he received a tech in the first quarter for his skirmish with LeBron James). He was automatically ejected for receiving a second tech.

Then, Gibson began yapping during Allen’s technical free throw. He was assessed a technical foul, then swore at referee Scott Foster to get his second technical, leading to his ejection. He was fuming.

Here’s a shot of Noah coming off the bench to argue the call:

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The first half of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night was physical and resulted in one flagrant foul and several technical fouls.

Joakim Noah and LeBron James were called for double-technicals at the end of the first quarter after they got physical with each other. James was attempting to drive but was called for an offensive foul. As he came into the paint, Noah wrapped him up. James responded by swatting Noah away, leading to words between the two. They were both assessed with technical fouls.

A few minutes later, Chris Andersen was called for a flagrant foul, and Nate Robinson got a technical foul a few minutes after that.

Andersen slammed into Marco Belinelli to draw his foul:

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Derrick Rose has not yet officially ruled out his return in the 2013 postseason, but Chicago Bulls fans have grown incredibly impatient. The team has done well in his absence, earning a respectable seed in the playoffs and knocking off the Brooklyn Nets in the first round. The Bulls also defeated the Miami Heat in Game 1 of their series on Monday night.

But there are few who believe Chicago can win a title without Rose on the floor, which has led to radio stations encouraging fans to send angry messages to the star point guard. Joakim Noah wants that nonsense to stop.

“Derrick’s a brother,” Noah said after his double-double against the Heat, via ESPNChicago.com. “And to see him go through this is tough, but at the end of the day it’s really funny how quick people are to judge. But people don’t know what it’s like to lead a team, especially after you tore your ACL.

“If you tore your ACL and you have to be the starting point guard and have the expectations that Derrick has, then maybe you can judge, but everybody who hasn’t been in that situation before should really shut up because I feel like it’s just so unfair to him and to this team. We’re fighting, and everybody’s going to just s— on somebody who’s been giving so much to this organization. It’s crazy to me.”

Rose tore his ACL in the playoffs last April, and it is not uncommon for athletes to take at least a full year to recover from an injury of that magnitude. Bulls fans became optimistic in March when he was reportedly cleared to play, but his status for this series still remains “up in the air.”

Like I said before, there is no way Rose would rather be watching from the bench than playing. If this was early on in the regular season and he had already been rehabbing for more than a year, you could maybe start to wonder. Who wants to watch from the sidelines during the playoffs? To think that Rose is milking his injury at this point in the season is just ridiculous.

Joakim Noah said on Thursday that the Chicago Bulls would beat the Brooklyn Nets in Game 7 of their playoff series, and he delivered.

Noah went off for 24 points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots in Chicago’s 99-93 road win. Even more impressive was that seven of his rebounds were offensive.

Noah’s performance was special for a number of reasons. He has been bothered by his plantar fasciitis and is playing through the foot injury. He also stepped up and led his team to victory when they were missing Luol Deng and obviously Derrick Rose.

After the game, Noah went to the stands to celebrate. He met his sister, Yelena, and the two shared an awesome handshake (GIF via @CJZero):

Joakim Noah’s sister Yelena is actually a model. Their father is former tennis player Yannick Noah, and their mother is a former Miss Sweden.

Now the Bulls move on to face the Miami Heat. You may recall that Noah said the Heat were “Hollywood as hell” after losing to them in the Eastern Conference finals two years ago. Noah is giving the Heat respect this time around, but you know he’s dying to beat them.

“Obviously they’re the best and you want to play against the best… It’s going to be a war,” Noah said Saturday, via FOX Sports Florida’s Chris Tomasson.

This should be a fun one.

As a bonus, make sure you watch this nasty dunk Noah threw down late in the third quarter against Brooklyn:

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The Chicago Bulls had the Brooklyn Nets right where they wanted them when they took a 3-1 series lead last weekend, but now the tables have turned completely. Following their 95-92 win over Chicago in Game 6 on Thursday night, the Nets now get to host Game 7 in Brooklyn. Joakim Noah does not seem concerned.

“We’re a team of fighters,” Noah said Thursday, via ESPNChicago.com. “We keep getting punched in the face but we fight back. I’m proud of this team, and we’re going to go into a hostile environment in Brooklyn and we’re going to win.”

There was really nothing else Noah could say, but the odds are stacked against Chicago at the moment. For starters, winning a Game 7 on the road is an incredibly difficult task. Nets fans will be at their loudest looking for their first playoff series win in their new building and city, which will be tough for the Bulls to overcome.

Then, there’s the issue of health. Game 7 is Saturday night. On Thursday night, Nate Robinson was puking into a trash can during timeouts and Taj Gibson was held to three points and three rebounds while battling a similar illness. Luol Deng, who underwent a spinal tap to test for viral meningitis (which came back negative), was unable to play. Noah has also been battling a foot issue that he admitted is incredibly painful at times.

Simply put, Chicago is battling illness at the worst time possible. If Robinson, Gibson and Deng are all able to recover over the next two days, there’s no reason they can’t defeat the Nets on the road. If not, Brooklyn will have the upper hand in a variety of ways.

Photo credit: Mike DiNovo-US PRESSWIRE