Luol Deng’s 40-point outburst last night, a career high which led the Bulls to a 101-91 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, tells us that the Bulls aren’t just Derrick Rose’s team.
Deng has been almost the forgotten man in offseason discussions; while Bulls fans were salivating over the near-impossibility of LeBron James coming to Chicago or trying to trade him and/or others for Carmelo Anthony, everyone was focused on Rose becoming the superstar that everyone thought he could be, and hopes he will be.
Nevertheless, the Duke product — and they generally do produce fine NBA players — has been a consistent performer through his first six years in the league, averaging about 14 points and six rebounds a game. In breaking his previous high game by two points, he gave notice that the Bulls have at least two offensive forces.
And maybe now, the mainstream media writers — or spellcheckers, we’re not sure who — will stop spelling his first name “Loul”.