Luol Deng: Why Bulls Forward Is Leading Candidate for NBA's Most Improved Player

Last year Luol Deng earned, and I do mean earned the nickname of Glue-All Deng. If last year he was Glue-All, this year he's Super Glue-All. He's Gorilla Glue-All. They need to invent a new kind of adhesive and call it Deng Glue. 

I can see the commercials. Everyone does impossible things with it and says, "I love that dang glue!"

Deng's "glueness" has entered another level. He has emerged as the ultimate glue player in the league. In fact, he's taken the glueness to a level of meriting the All-Star team. 

In fact you can make the argument that the only two small forwards better than him right now in the Eastern Conference are LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony and that Deng has now surpassed the likes of Paul Pierce and Danny Granger. 

That's actually not a stretch either. Right now his PER of 17.9 is better than either of them. 

Deng's improved every aspect of his game. His rebounding is at a career high, he's improved his ball handling as demonstrated with the two percent drop in his turnover rate and he's elevated his PER by more than two points over last year. 

His defense has gone from good to spectacular. The only small forward in the NBA that is playing better defense than him right now is Lebron James, and even that is by a close margin.

Deng is surrendering just .72 points per play while James is giving up .71 points per play. Opponents are only scoring 33 percent of the time against him. 

And really, none of that compares to what you see when you watch him play. The Lakers game is the perfect example.

Derrick Rose got the game-winning shot, but Deng made it possible. 

It was Deng who made the free throws to put the Bulls within one. It was Deng who got the steal. It was Deng who got off the pass in the nick of time. 

Deng does so many things that help the Bulls win that you can't even list them all. Whether it's the cut to the basket, setting the pick, guarding the opposing team's best man or making a big shot, he does it all. 

But what's visible now more than ever is he wants to be big. There were times last year when he seemed to prefer to hide behind Rose when Rose needed him to step up. Admittedly these intangibles are subject to bias and bias can lie more easily than numbers, but Deng just seems to be playing bigger.

The Bulls last year were in need of a second star. Deng is proving he can be that player. It's not often that you present the Most Improved Player to a player of near All-Star level, but this year Deng could get it. What would be better is if there was a "Glue Man of the Year" award, but since there isn't Deng should be considered for Most Improved.  

Note: Upon further consideration Kyle Lowry actually deserves the award more. I should have thought this one out a bit more. Still the article was published and Deng deserves some love. Make this more a Why the NBA Needs an All Glue Award article.