Chicago Bulls: Luol Deng Deserves All-Star Nod

The NBA All-Star Game is about the celebration of the leagues best players, and its distinction suggests that each player is either considered elite at his position or is just having a great season. More time than not, there are a few players who are voted in as starters undeservedly, which leaves out better players.

This causes coaches in both conferences to right the wrongdoings of fans (i.e. voting in Yao Ming despite the fact that he is out for the season) or the injustice of the voting process such as Carmelo Anthony being voted in as a starter over players having better seasons with winning teams. Players being left out happens too often and this year will be no exception.

The Chicago Bulls may suffer the most from the potential snub list.

The Bulls have the NBA's best record and are a team that receives very little respect. Ask the casual fan to name their starting lineup and you'll hear Derrick Rose then that long pause, followed by the "Miami Heat are still the best team in the league" comment. It is a total dismissal for the most celebrated team who has never won a ring.

Which leaves me to this: Luol Deng in a Miami Heat uniform equals NBA All-Star without any questions, but seeing that Deng plays for the Bulls, he is considered as a "maybe."

The argument is the fact that Deng has missed seven games due to a torn ligament in his wrist, but if you insert Dwyane Wade in that very same circumstances you will hear no such discussion. Wade has missed a total of eight games this season, but that didn't stop the fans from voting him in as a starter.

Boston's Paul Pierce started the season slowly, but since then has picked up the slack for the Celtics. Some consider him more of a shoo-in for an All-Star bid than Deng even though Deng has had a better all-around season and the Bulls lost three of the seven games played in his absence. In fact, the Bulls have a better record without Derrick Rose (4-1) than without Deng (4-3).

This should suggest plenty about Deng's importance to the team and serve as an explanation as to why he deserves to be and will be named the second representative for the Bulls in the All-Star Game.

Rounding out the East team should be:

F: Deng

F; Chris Bosh

C: Roy Hibbert

G: Joe Johnson

G: Lou Williams (Andre Iguodala was selected)

F: Paul Pierce

G: Kyrie Irving (Deron Williams was selected)

For the West:

F: Kevin Love

F: LaMarcus Aldridge

C: Al Jefferson (Marc Gasol was selected)

G: Russell Westbrook

G: Tony Parker

F: Rudy Gay (Dirk Nowitzki was selected)

G: Kevin Martin (Steve Nash was selected)

I also expect the Kyle Korver to be named as a three-point contest participant even though C.J. Watson deserves it the most, while Omer Asik should be in the Future Stars Game.

It is time to celebrate a team that is winning at a high rate. The best team in the NBA should always be represented properly. The fact that the Bulls are not on ESPN's SportsCenter all the time does not mean that they have inferior players.