Chicago Bulls: Eight Reasons the Bulls Should Bring Back Luol Deng Early

A week ago, Chicago Bulls small forward Luol Deng went down with a torn ligament in his left wrist. Despite the fact that it causes him great pain and that most players would get surgery for this type of injury, Deng has opted to play through it. 

Deng almost came back against the Miami Heat on Sunday, but he opted to give it another few days in order to be more effective and control the pain. 

As with any injury issues, it is questionable whether it is worth it to bring Deng back at this point in the season. However, I would argue that the Bulls should postpone his surgery and bring Deng back soon.

Surgery Would Rule Him out for a While

In his rookie season, Luol Deng had a similar injury to the one he has now, only on his shooting hand.

Since it was clear the Chicago Bulls weren't going anywhere that season anyway, Deng had surgery and missed the last 11 games and the playoffs. 

If he were to have surgery now, Deng would likely come back right before the playoffs start. At that point, it's questionable whether the Bulls would have a comfortable enough lead as the first seed, or whether they would need to rush him back then anyway. 

Then, in the playoffs, Deng still wouldn't be in a rhythm, and his performance would not be as good as it could be.

In this shortened season, rhythm is everything. 

Deng cannot afford to miss that much time. 

Luol Deng Needs Playing Time to Stay Effective

In Luol Deng's career, we have seen that he actually plays more effectively when he is on the court for longer periods of time.

In each of the two seasons during which Deng played 82 games, he averaged over 37 minutes per game. In the three seasons during which Deng played under 70 games, he averaged under 34 minutes per game.

Now, this is an oversimplification, but the points are still valid: Deng plays better when he plays a lot.

And while his playing 39 minutes a game last year was likely a bit excessive, he should be on the court for that amount of time. 

When Deng doesn't play, he doesn't get into a rhythm, and his performance suffers. If he were to miss the next three months and then return for the playoffs, he would come in rusty and play like a shell of himself. 

Luol Deng Is the Heart of Chicago's Defense

I agree that it could be argued that Joakim Noah is the heart of the Chicago Bulls defense, but Luol Deng is at minimum a HUGE part of the team's defensive unit. 

Deng is a guy who has all the height and length of LeBron James, and a big chunk of the strength as well. There are very few guys who are able to get by Deng when he is defending them, and that puts all sorts of pressure on the opposing teams' offense. 

Sure, Ronnie Brewer is at least a comparable defender, but Deng's length makes him almost otherworldly.

The fact that the Bulls have a guy that can guard three positions without losing anything, as well as be a contributor on offense, is a very valuable asset indeed. 

Reputation

Luol Deng really is a very tough guy. However, in 2009, the Chicago Bulls organization questioned his toughness. 

Deng had missed a couple of games due to a leg injury, but doctors could not find what was ailing him. The Bulls released a statement saying that Deng would miss a couple of games due to injury, but that he was encouraged to challenge himself in order to get back quicker. 

What that press release effectively said was that the Bulls' organization thought that Deng was being soft and faking injury. However, soon afterwards, it was discovered that Deng had a previously undiagnosed stress fracture in his shin. 

Even though the injury was completely legitimate, and even though it was something Deng could not play through, he gained a reputation around the league as a soft and injury-prone player.

This is the time for Deng to prove the doubters wrong.  

Chicago Can't Beat Miami Without Him

On Sunday, the Chicago Bulls played a VERY close game against the Miami Heat that was decided by a few choice possessions. Many would say that the Bulls could have and should have beat the completely healthy Heat, but it's questionable whether that is true. 

If Luol Deng was in the game playing big minutes instead of Derrick Rose and Ronnie Brewer both putting in 40-plus and Rip Hamilton putting in 36 on an injured groin, there is a good chance that things could have gone differently. 

At minimum, Deng allows the Bulls to compensate for having Kyle Korver on the floor for more minutes, since he is such an effective defender. Brewer just doesn't have the height to handle LeBron James for extended minutes, and Hamilton doesn't have the height or bulk. 

Offensively, Deng is also able to reasonably space the floor and punish LeBron for leaving to guard Rose.

Deng could easily be the difference between a win and loss. 

The Injury Is in His Non-Shooting Hand

As mentioned before, the torn ligament is in his left hand, and Luol Deng is a right-handed player.

The main effect of this injury will likely be on Deng's ball-handling, but Deng isn't relied on for that much anyway. 

When it comes to shooting, the left hand really does not play that big of a role; it's more of a guide. When it comes to defense, Deng's specialty, he was never really much a guy with quick hands anyway.

Deng's greatest gifts have always been in his length and strength, and neither of those should be affected too badly.

Home-Court Advantage Is Important

At the moment, the Chicago Bulls sit with the top record in the Eastern Conference at 17-5. They are tied with Portland for the best home record in the league at 9-1, and they are tied with Oklahoma City and Indiana for most road wins with eight. 

Even though the Bulls are an adept road team, a team really wants to have home-court advantage if it's playing against a team that is favored, like the Miami Heat are.

There is no question that the Bulls have the ability to go into Miami and steal a game from the Heat. The issue is that Miami has exactly that same ability. 

With both teams so evenly matched, there is no question that the Bulls need Luol Deng in order to get over the top, record-wise.

If that makes the difference, so be it. 

He Can't Aggravate It More

This is by far the most important part of the argument.

If Luol Deng could potentially make his wrist worse and risk his long-term health, then I would say let him have surgery and heal. However, since the ligament in his wrist is already torn, there is no way that he could make it worse. 

Right now, all Deng has to fight through is the pain and swelling.

Now, let's put that into perspective. The pain and swelling from a torn ligament is very intense, and no one on earth should blame Deng if he opts to try and get relief. 

However, if Deng is willing to try and play through the injury, the Bulls should oblige.