Filling the Deng Void

Published: 24^th Jan 12 3:03 pm

by Vince Cunningham
Featured Columnist

RANT It!

Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE

Just as Derrick Rose had returned to the lineup, the Bulls lost another key player in Luol Deng. What appeared to be merely a sprained wrist, has now turned out to be a torn ligament in his left hand. Being that it is his non-shooting hand, Deng is hoping to avoid surgery and play through the pain, but it may be a few weeks before he sees the court again.

This is a big loss for the first place Bulls, and although they have one of the deeper benches in the NBA, Deng’s leaves some tough shoes to fill. It’s obviously not as detrimental as an extended absence of Derrick Rose, but Deng has been Mr. Intangible for Chicago, and their roster doesn’t currently boast another player of his complete skill set. Ronnie Brewer will step into the starting five in Deng’s absence, and while he has proven to be an above average defender, he can not offer the same balanced scoring attack on the offensive end. A decent slasher and mediocre mid-range shooter, when he has space, but Luol’s numbers will need to be picked up by the other four. Rip Hamilton is finally back in the lineup and appears to be healthy. He will need to get his nightly scoring up to about 15-18 points a game in order to pick up the slack. That would allow Brewer to just play his game and not try to overcompensate.

Also, even before the Deng injury, rumors were swirling about the Russian model Mr. Intangible, Andrei Kirilenko, and his desire to return to the NBA. After 10 productive years with the Utah Jazz, which included an All-Star nod and an All-Defensive First Team selection, Kirilenko signed a deal with Russia this past summer as the NBA season loomed in doubt. Kirilenko had expressed interest in returning to US, but perhaps not until next season. Only now, with a first place contender in need of his services, Kirilenko and the Bulls may be wise to speeding up that process. He could fill the Bulls void at Small Forward and join his three former teammates (Boozer, Brewer and Korver), whom he had some of his best years playing aside. The need is there and their chemistry was undeniable, now it’s just a matter of getting him back on this side of the pond.

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