Chicago Bulls: Why Luol Deng Deserved His All-Star Spot

On Thursday Luol Deng was named as a reserve for the 2012 NBA All-Star game, which will be held in Orlando later this month.

This will be Deng's first All-Star game after being snubbed last season.

Deng has played 21 games and is averaging 16 points to go along with 7.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

For the Bulls, he is second on the team in scoring behind fellow All-Star Derrick Rose and is third in rebounding behind Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah. He also is their best defensive player who nightly takes on the opposing team's best wing player.

Compared to other small forwards in the East, he is fifth in scoring and second to only LeBron James in rebounding. Three of the four players with better scoring averages are also on the team. James and Carmelo Anthony were voted starters by the fans and Paul Pierce was named a reserve along with Deng.

The only player who scores more then Deng, who didn't make the team, is Danny Granger of the Indiana Pacers. While Granger does score more Deng does it much more efficiently. Deng is shooting much better then Granger from three point land as well as overall from the field.

Deng is shooting just under 44 percent from the field and 37 percent from beyond the arc, while Granger is only shooting 37.5 percent from the field and just under 35 percent from three-point land.

Deng's 38 minutes a night are also tops among the small forwards and is top five in the entire league.

Let's be honest, does a 17-8 team deserve to have more All-Stars than a team that has gone 22-6?

I sure don't think so.

The real debate isn't whom Deng made it over but which teammate made it over each other. Paul Pierce was selected over Rajon Rondo. Joe Johnson was selected over Josh Smith and Roy Hibbert was selected over Danny Granger.

Hibbert and Andre Iguodala will join Deng as first timers for the East. The rest of the roster includes Dwight Howard, Deron Williams, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

There is also a good chance Tom Thibodeau could be joining his players in Orlando. The coach with the best record in each conference traditionally coaches the team.

Congrats to Deng and let's hope if Thibodeau is the coach he decides to go easy on him and Rose when it comes to minutes.

Make sure to follow me on Twitter @dachicagofan, and check out my weekly Bullspodcast every Wednesday on my site The MG Experience.