Joakim Noah to Bulls Fans: Stop Booing Carlos Boozer


Chicago fans are growing increasingly frustrated with the play of Carlos Boozer (who’s battling injuries) in these Playoffs, and they’re not shy about expressing this, something that teammate Joakim Noah would like to see curtailed. The Daily Herald reports: “Noah asked fans to ‘support every one of us,’ and it was obvious what he meant. The fans are getting restless with power forward Carlos Boozer. There was a murmur in the first quarter when Taj Gibson simply walked to the scorer’s table to check in for Boozer and audible cheers when the team’s primary free-agent acquisition of last summer left the floor. In Noah’s mind, that’s simply not acceptable. In the hallway after the game, he was passionate about the topic. ‘I love our fans. We have the best fans in the NBA, no question about it,’ Noah said. ‘But I understand our fans are very demanding and that can be very good and in some aspects that can be bad, as well. Carlos is in a situation where he’s hurt and he’s giving us everything he can. I’ve been in the position where I’ve been booed before in the United Center and I know to get to where we want to get to, we need Carlos. We should be supporting him. I don’t understand that.’ Boozer is playing through a painful turf toe injury suffered in the series-clinching win over Indiana last week. He contributed to the Bulls’ rebounding dominance Wednesday, grabbing 11. He hit 4 of 12 shots for 8 points. Noah was arguably the star of the game with 19 points and 14 rebounds. It’s an odd comparison, too, because Noah was a lost rookie when he was hearing boos at the United Center. Boozer, 29, is a nine-year veteran who has been an all-star, an Olympian and played in the conference finals. Obviously, that’s why the fans want to see more. ‘Not a lot of people know what that feels like to be a worker, work hard and be in position where you get booed by your home crowd,’ Noah continued. ‘Booz is an emotional player. The crowd has a lot to do with his game. He enjoys that. I enjoy playing to the crowd. The crowd has a big impact on what we do. We realize that. I just want to show some support for my teammate and what he’s going through right now, because I don’t think it’s fair.'”