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Derrick Rose and Luol Deng will represent the Chicago Bulls and the Eastern conference in the 2012 NBA All-Star game in Orlando this weekend, and each player certainly deserves the honor. There is no doubt Rose and Deng are the centerpieces of a 27-8 team primed to compete for a spot in the NBA Finals, but John Schuhmann of NBA.com took a closer look at their statistical profiles to see exactly how they have made their impact on the team.
For some background, the reigning MVP is averaging 21.8 points per game on 55.7 percent true shooting to go with 7.7 assists and 3.4 rebounds for a PER of 24.27 -- those current marks would all be career highs. Here are some tidbits Schuhmann had to add:
- Teammates are shooting 47.9 percent with Rose on the floor and 44.5 percent with him on the bench.
- Ranks ninth in the league in usage rate, using 28.9 percent of the Bulls' possessions when he's on the floor. Ranked third last season at 31.9 percent.
- Of his 106 3-point attempts, only one (0.9 percent) has come from the corners. That's the lowest percentage of all players that have attempted at least 50 3s.
- Shooting 70 percent (56-for-80) from within five feet of the basket in the first half of games and only 49 percent (39-for-79) in the second half.
As for Deng, he brings most of his value on defense, but is still putting up 15.9 points, 3.3 assists and 6.9 rebounds per game. Schuhmann illumates his value to the team by noting the following stats:
- Ranks second to James in raw plus-minus at plus-274.
- Shooting just 31.2 percent (39-for-125) from mid-range, which ranks 109th among 118 players who have attempted at least 75 shots from between the paint and the arc. The only 2012 All-Star shooting a lower percentage from mid-range is Andrew Bynum, who's 5-for-25.
- Has played 276 fourth-quarter minutes over the last two seasons with his team up by 11 or more points, second-most (behind Bosh) among regular starters.
The NBA All-Star game can be seen on Sunday at 5 p.m. on TNT.
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