WITH RIVALRY INTENSIFIED, CAVS SILENCE NOAH

LeBron James addresses the media prior to Game 2 against the Chicago Bulls in Cleveland. With an emphatic dunk, Joakim Noah was the last Bulls player to leave the court Monday night during shooting practice at Quicken Loans Arena before Game 2's 112-102 loss to the Cavaliers. Five straight Bulls players had taken that same walk minutes earlier all by themselves. But when Noah disappeared into the tunnel, the same arena security guard who had escorted Noah out of the locker room scurried to lead him down a hallway back into it. A Bulls spokesperson said the team didn't request additional security for Noah because of the hostility surrounding his insults Sunday and guards routinely accompany players. OK, perhaps, but it was clear the men with badges came to the arena Monday night fully aware Noah was no average Jo in the eyes of the locals. Let's just say Shaquille O'Neal gave Noah more room on the perimeter during the game, daring him to shoot, than the arena's security detail did before and after it. "You suck, Noah,'' a fan shouted at Noah from 10 feet away after pregame warmups. And when Noah's three-point play gave the Bulls a 53-52 lead early in the third quarter, the first of several choruses of "NOAH SUCKS!" erupted. And that was the printable stuff. "Whatever gets him ready to play, gets him going, is fine with me,'' Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said of Noah's criticism of Cleveland. "Jo's going to speak his mind. When you do, you've got to back it up.'' Noah did that with playoff career highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds and tougher defense against O'Neal. He also earned every jeer with silly comments that the Cavaliers organization, in a move every bit as juvenile as Noah's, displayed on the giant scoreboard. Alongside a picture of Noah appeared the quote that riled up Chamber of Commerce officials and talk-radio hosts here: "I don't know about Cleveland, man, there is nothing going on. ... It's bad, man.'' Forget for a moment that Noah may have a point. Forget how cheesy indeed it was for a box of macaroni and cheese to greet Cavs fans at their seats so they could shake them and make noise. Forget that there's nothing wrong with Cleveland that an urban planner, a team of architects and a little imagination couldn't improve. It still was a dumb thing for Noah to say. It didn't sharpen the Bulls' edge or get inside the Cavs' heads. The image we remember about Noah from the 2009 playoffs was his breakaway dunk against the Celtics. As well as Noah played Monday, it's doubtful we'll remember any of his actions in this series more than his words. Not that there is a single word Noah wanted back. When I asked him afterward if he regretted criticizing Cleveland, Noah just lit a proverbial match near a puddle of gasoline. "Not at all,'' Noah said. "Do you like it? Do you think it's cool at all? I never heard anyone say I'm going to Cleveland on vacation. … My whole life I've been booed. It's OK. I have my friends, I don't care.'' Nor do the Cavs have any reason to care what Noah says. They're above it, and the drama has no impact on the series or why the Bulls hung around longer in Game 2 than many expected. To the Cavs, the Bulls are little more than a fly in their soup. "Noah's one of those guys who likes attention,'' LeBron James said. "I would never, for the most part, say anything like that. But that's just me. That's our team.'' From a sports standpoint, it's probably not the best week to start a Cleveland vs. Chicago debate anyway. Not after the Indians swept the White Sox in a weekend series. Not with Mike Holmgren overseeing his first NFL draft for the Browns as Jerry Angelo tries to avoid making this his last one running the Bears. Not when Cleveland still has LeBron, whose 40 points and eight rebounds made the most emphatic statement of the week. I know some Bulls fans who would trade every 5-star restaurant on their credit card bills and a lakefront view to get the NBA's best No. 23 since you-know-who to come to Chicago once James becomes a free agent. Realistically, the chances of that happening are as slim as the Bulls rallying to win this series. The Bulls shot better and defended better in Game 2 — please don't think it had anything to do with Noah inspiring them – but the bottom-line realities of this series didn't change. Chicago is a better city. The Cavaliers are a better basketball team. If I'm an NBA player, I'd care more about the latter than the former. And the only thing I'd worry about if I'm Noah is winning at least one game at home so the series can return to the city he hates so much for Game 5. (Chicago Tribune)