Knicks practice notes: Joakim Noah returns to practice, Derrick Rose plays pickup games in LA

Joakim Noah’s bum hamstring has been a real buzzkill this preseason. The Knicks big man finally practiced on Wednesday, sprained his ankle, then sat out Thursday. Dammit, dammit, dammit!

So what about Friday’s practice?

Yaaaassssssssssssss!

So what is his status leading up to Saturday’s clash with the Boston Celtics?

Noah clearly wants to play; he gave a nice little speech about loving the game that is sure to make any Knicks fan tear up a little, per Marc Berman:

“Yeah, I really am [excited]. It’s been a hectic month being in and out with knick-knack injuries. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. It’s always special to play in that building. I’ll never take it for granted.

...

“I just love the game — I want to be able to play. Any time you get to play on an NBA court, it’s a blessing. The injury was telling me not to take any of these moments for granted.’’

Let’s watch Joakim scrimmage!

Sadly, the news wasn’t all good on the injury front:

Second missed practice in a row for Lance Thomas, who has a sore heel. Lance has struggled with his shot in preseason, but seemed to be coming around in the fourth quarter of New York’s last game.

In other news, Derrick Rose has been playing pickup games in Los Angeles between trial appearances:

Is that even a good idea? I’m stumped. Hopefully the coaching staff has already approved this.

Finally, we end with Kristaps Porzingis, who is still the best: