The Chicago Bulls will start the 2012-13 season without Derrick Rose at their disposal, but starting center Joakim Noah is doing everything in his power to make sure he is ready to go on day one. Noah suffered through multiple ankle injuries during the NBA season, so he decided to forego the Olympics (he would have played for France) in order to give himself the best chance to enter the upcoming NBA season at peak health.

Noah recently made a visit to ESPN's Sportscenter, and after noting that people "sleeping" on the Bulls will be surprised when the playoffs come around, he clarified the progress on his recovery:

"My ankle is feeling a lot better," he said. "It's not 100 percent. I'm rehabbing it in NYC. It's one of the reasons that I'm not playing in the Olympics this year, to make sure it's 100 percent for the NBA season."

Before the interview ended, Noah made sure to provide a bit of his trademark edginess as well. After calling LeBron James and the Miami Heat "Hollywood" for most of last season, he let it be known that a victory in the NBA Finals hasn't changed his opinion on the Heat:

"Do I still believe they're Hollywood? I think they're Hollywood, but you have to give them credit, they're champions right now," Noah said. "One day I hope to get that. You have to give credit where credit is due."

Never change, Jo.

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