Chicago Bulls vs Miami Heat: Luol Deng 'Recovering Quickly', Might Play Sunday

After head coach Tom Thibodeau confirmed that Chicago Bulls small foward Luol Deng has a torn ligament in his non-shooting wrist, the general consensus was that Deng would miss a considerable amount of time. The injury comes during a rough week in the Bulls' schedule as they are fresh off their first home loss of the year (95-90 to the Pacers last night), and have games against the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers later in the week.

Many people believe that the Bulls can't win against good competition, especially against Miami, if Deng is out. After all, he is the team's second leading scorer, third leading rebounder, and arguably the Bulls' best one-on-one defender.

Hold that thought for a second though.

ESPN's Nick Fredell recently reported that Luol Deng is "recovering quickly" from his wrist injury. So quick, there's a chance Deng might return to play Sunday against the Heat. Bulls back up point guard John Lucas III told ESPN that it "wouldn't surprise him at all" if Deng did in fact play on Sunday.

On top of Fridell's report, the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson said that Luol Deng "is aiming" to return Sunday and will "take pains" to stay in the lineup.

Deng's toughness comes as no surprise. It's pretty clear that he wants to be out on the court when Chicago takes on Miami Sunday in a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference Finals. As much as he wants to get on the court, Deng doesn't have the final word on his status. Only a few days ago, Deng was reported to be "week-to-week" by Thibodeau.

However, the final decision on Deng's status will come from coach Thibodeau and GM Gar Forman.

Forman, when asked by ESPN to comment on Deng's status, said, "When he's physically able to play is when he'll play." Forman also stated that Deng has been making great progress and has been on the court shooting and handling the ball. Forman also didn't leave out the possibility of Deng playing on Sunday.

With this news just being released, one has to ask themselves if Deng's injury wasn't as serious as the media made it out to be. Being listed as "week-to-week" only two days ago to "possibly" playing Sunday in the Bulls' biggest game of the year has to be thrilling news for every Bulls fan.

It's clear Deng wants to be out the court. Even if he doesn't get back on the court for Sunday's game, the news of Deng's quick progression can let every Chicago fan breathe a sigh of relief right now.