Luol Deng Illness: Latest Updates on Status of Bulls Star
The Chicago Bulls have been riddled with injuries and player misfortunes all season, and that bug won't go away for at least one more night.
UPDATE: Wednesday, May 15, at 5:39 p.m. ET by Ian Hanford
According to South Florida Sun-Sentinel reporter Ira Winderman, Deng will miss Game 5 vs. the Miami Heat:
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UPDATE: Monday, May 13 at 7:04 p.m. ET by Eric Ball
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UPDATE: Monday, May 13 at 5:54 p.m. ET by Eric Ball
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UPDATE: Friday, May 10, at 12:14 p.m. ET by Kyle Vassalo
The Bulls have announced that Luol Deng, Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich are out for Game 3:
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UPDATE: Thursday, May 9 at 3:58 p.m. ET by Eric Ball
Nick Friedell adds that it's doubtful Deng returns this series.
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UPDATE: Wednesday, May 8 at 10:35 a.m. ET by Sam Westmoreland
Deng is still in Chicago and listed as day-to-day, according to head coach Tom Thibodeau. K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune has the details.
The longer the Bulls' best perimeter defender is out in this series, the harder it will be for them to knock off the Heat.
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UPDATE: Monday, May 6, at 11:05 a.m. ET by Brandon Galvin
Luol Deng will not play tonight against the Miami Heat, according to ESPN's Nick Friedell.
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UPDATE: Sunday, May 5th at 9:25 p.m. ET by Eric Ball
"According to a person with direct knowledge of the situation, Luol Deng didn't travel to Miami and isn't with the Bulls as of Sunday night.
— Aggrey Sam (@CSNBullsInsider) May 6, 2013"
"He went back to the emergency room in Chicago this morning.
— Aggrey Sam (@CSNBullsInsider) May 6, 2013"
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UPDATE: Saturday, May 4th at 6:02 p.m. ET by Kyle Vassalo
According to Yahoo!'s Adrian Wojnarowski, Luol Deng has been released from the hospital:
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UPDATE: Saturday, May 4th at 11:10 a.m ET by Sam Westmoreland
After announcing yesterday that he would try to start Game 7, Luol Deng is not with the Bulls for the series finale against the Nets, and won't be playing, according to ESPN's Nick Friedell.
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UPDATE: Friday, May 3rd at 3:25 p.m. ET by Kyle Vassalo
Luol Deng tweeted a series of updates on his current condition:
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According to the team's official Twitter account, Luol Deng will miss Game 6 with an undisclosed illness. Marco Belinelli will start in his place and Jimmy Butler will slide to small forward to complete the starting five:
The news on Deng comes after head coach Tom Thibodeau already addressed the media with reports that several of the team's key cogs were dealing with issues prior to game time. Point guard Kirk Hinrich had already been ruled out:
Deng has arguably been Chicago's best player this season.
With star point guard Derrick Rose missing the entire season due to his recovery from an ACL tear, Deng ramped up his play to the tune of 16.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.1 steals and a league-high 38.7 minutes per game, numbers that helped earn him his second straight spot on the NBA All-Star team.
During Chicago's first five playoff games, Deng has averaged 13.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists to go along with 44.8 minutes per game—a number that also leads qualified league members.
The Bulls will have to close out Game 6 without one of the few players on the roster that can anchor the offensive attack. As noted by ESPN Stats & Info, Chicago's production dips significantly without Deng's ability to attack from the block, shoot the mid-range jumper and extend to the three-point line as needed:
One could also argue that Deng is still Chicago's best on-ball defender.
Holding a 3-2 series lead against the Nets heading into Thursday night, the Bulls had to be happy with the way the first round had been playing out. Without Rose, they've won a road game in Brooklyn and boasted a 4-0 record against the Nets at home this season (regular and playoffs).
Now, Game 6 will truly test Thibodeau and this coaching staff in what is shaping up to be one of the biggest roster patch jobs in NBA history.
New York Daily News writer Stefan Bondy noted as much on Twitter:
As the NBA leader in minutes per game this season, Deng has proven he won't take a game off despite an aching body. That, combined with Thursday night being a close-out game for the Bulls, should tell you that this illness is more than a common cold.
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