Noah adamantly clarified on Oct. 30 at a morning shootaround in Michigan that he didn't ask for a reserve role, as coach Fred Hoiberg erroneously said that first week of the season. But Noah accepted the bench role thinking he would be finishing most games or at least averaging more than 21.9 minutes. That's 15 minutes down from his career-high and the second-lowest average of his career behind his turbulent rookie season.