Noah: 'Injuries may be a blessing in disguise' for shorthanded Bulls

The Chicago Bulls refuse to let injuries derail their season.

If losing Derrick Rose wasn't bad enough, the team learned at the beginning of the week that it could also play the rest of the regular season without All-Star Jimmy Butler.

But since Butler went down, the shorthanded Bulls have responded with a pair of impressive victories over the Washington Wizards and a last-second win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, despite Russell Westbrook's best efforts. 

"It's been an up and down year; you definitely need the basketball gods on your side," Noah told reporters after the Bulls' 108-105 win over the Thunder on Thursday. "I'm not going to lie, it feels great."

Without Butler and Rose, the team's two leading scorers, an opportunity has been created for others to step up on the offensive end, and so far players have responded to the challenge.

Rookie forward Nikola Mirotic has scored 20-plus in three consecutive contests, his first 20-point games since December. He's added eight rebounds apiece in each of the last two games and gotten to the line at will, taking 27 free-throw attempts. So far, he's proven to be capable of assuming a larger role, something he's showed in spurts throughout the season. 

And it was unlikely hero E'Twaun Moore who came through with a 3-point dagger against the Thunder to help the Bulls escape with a victory, capping a career-high 19-point performance.

"We've just got to stay humble and stay hungry and we know when the playoffs come, when the games get really intense we need all our guys and obviously we need these guys to come back," Noah said. 

"But you never know. These injuries may be a blessing in disguise; guys can rest a little bit and come back fresh and ready to go for when it hits the fan."

The Bulls have once again taken over first place from the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Central Division, and slipped into the No. 2 seed in the East with 20 games remaining. Holding off Cleveland will be difficult and Chicago's upcoming schedule is challenging.

Chicago gets the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs on the road, both winners of three consecutive, before a date with the Southwest Division-leading Memphis Grizzlies. 

But the Bulls keep plugging away. They've been a top-10 team on offense and defense since Feb. 1, going 9-4 over that stretch despite being riddled with injuries.

"It shows you (expert) guys don't know much," Noah said playfully. "That's the beauty of sports. You guys can analyze the game and talk about what's going to happen before the game and pregame talk and talk and talk. But you don't know."