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Joakim Noah was a big-deal lottery pick just a few months ago, but if you watch and/or follow the NBA, you haven't seen him this year. That all changed on Tuesday night. From the Chicago Sun-Times:

Ready or not, rookie Joakim Noah made his regular-season debut Tuesday night in the Bulls' 97-91 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

''I thought he was active,'' coach Scott Skiles said of Noah (0-for-4, two points, four rebounds, three blocks and one steal in 19 minutes).

Active - now that's some strong praise. Noah later goes on to admit that he has no idea why all of his teammates are running around so purposefully while on offense:

Noah, who missed the first three games with a left ankle sprain, acknowledged he has had some difficulty learning the Bulls' offensive schemes.

''That's always been a problem of mine, especially in the beginning of whatever transition I make,'' Noah said.

''I had a hard time my freshman year [at Florida] with the plays and learning Billy Donovan's system. The same thing a little bit here. But I'm working. I've got a playbook now, so it's on me to be the best I can. I think I'm getting better at it, and I think we're ready to go.''

That's cool, Joakim. Take your time with it. It's a long season. It's not like the Bulls are 3 and a half games out of first place after four games or anything.