Luol Deng's Offense or Defense: Which Will the Chicago Bulls Miss More?

It would be an understatement to say that the Bulls brass is tight-lipped on the exact status of their injured forward Luol Deng.

It has been disclosed as a torn wrist ligament and the only prognosis that has been publicly mentioned is that it may not require surgery and the Bulls are treating it as a week-to-week injury.

Needless to say, this proves to be a very significant loss for Chicago. Where will the Bulls lack the most with Deng’s absence?

There’s no denying that Chicago will miss Deng’s offensive versatility. He has demonstrated proficiency in every facet of Coach Tom Thibodeau’s scheme by being a shooter, a slasher, a passer and someone who can get himself open.

 The biggest void that Deng’s absence leaves will be on the defensive side of the court.

For now, let’s set aside the point of Deng being the defender best capable of guarding the likes of LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony and just focus on what it means in terms of the team’s overall defensive scheme.

Thibodeau is a great defensive strategist that has turned Chicago into the best defensive team in the league.

They were the No. 2 defensive team last season and are currently No. 1 this year.

A big part of that success was not because of who Deng guarded specifically, but who he was able to guard in the grand scheme of what was needed.

Deng has the size to guard both forward positions and he has the length and footwork to defend smaller guards. On the court, he is Chicago’s defensive enforcer.

Not being on the court to anchor the Bulls defense means that everyone else will have to work that much harder to keep Thibodeau’s intense defensive system intact.

That means Chicago has to chance keeping some players who are considered defensive liabilities on the floor for longer than expected and at times when they normally would not be playing.

This poses a problem because the harder the team has to work defensively, the more it may affect them offensively and that translates into harder wins.

It's a grind that is bound to wear on Chicago the more they play without Deng.

The Bulls are deep enough to challenge and beat most other teams in the league. The true test of their grit is going to come against those aforementioned skilled forwards from the Big Apple and down in South Beach.

Chicago has already passed the Rose-less test, but they may find that winning sans Deng will be a different kind of difficult.