I'm very happy for Deng. Fittingly, his selection is as much a team honor as it is an individual one.
Well, and while that's true, it is a backhanded compliment to Lu. People will say -- somebody from the Bulls other than Rose had to get on. And they'd have a point. Anyway, I like Lu, and good for him. I hope it doesn't go to his head
I view the selection as a merited lifetime achievement award, as opposed to Duncan's nod last season, which was an unmerited lifetime achievement award. Deng has played at a high level for many, many seasons, and he has been the lynch pin on two completely different Bulls contending teams. If you look just at offensive stats, you could make an argument that three Celtics deserve to be on the team. Last season there was four. Two Knicks, as well. Which forces you to ask the question, if middling teams have two or three allstars, why do good teams like the Bulls, Philadelphia and Indiana only have one. The answer is that we severely underrate the importance of defense, and that team depth is important. I'm thrilled for Deng. Barkley and Kenny Smith kept talking about how easy it was for players to score well on bad teams. Deng would be similarly effective on a great and weak team. Indeed, he probably is better on a good team.
Rumor has it he was approaching to accept the nomination and herniated L3, L4 and L5 as he attempted to climb a stair. The Bulls have prescribed electric stimulation and massage, more monster tire flipping and pounding hands into sand.
