<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> <div class="txt-mod"> <h3>Deng Faces Kobe Questions</h3> <div class="txt-even">Luol Deng | Bulls</div> Bulls forward Luol Deng -- who expects to play tonight, when Kobe Bryant and the Lakers visit the United Center, despite sitting out practice Monday with back pain -- faced a Kobe-beefed-up media contingent at the Berto Center. "It's still going to come up, one way or the other," Deng said. "Probably not [after] playing against the Lakers, but there are going to be questions here and there. The trade talk is not as fired up as it was before. It could come up again. If it comes up, it comes up." -- Chicago Sun-Times</p> Improvement Means Less 'Kobe' Chants ...</p> </p> [*]They haven't been heard in weeks, as the Bulls have won six times in nine games. Still, Luol Deng is realistic, even if the chants aren't since Bryant isn't coming here other than with the Lakers on Tuesday night. "Every time we play well, the crowd shows its love," Deng said after Monday's practice. "When we play bad, they also let us know. That's the way it should be. They have a lot of expectations. We know we have to go out and perform. If we don't show up, they're going to show us tough love. But if we play well, it's going to be loud." -- Chicago Tribune</p> Sore Back Could Be Season-Long Issue ...</p> </p> [*]One day after participating in the Bulls' 2 1/2 -hour practice, Luol Deng sat out Monday with a sore back that, for the first time, he acknowledged could be a season-long issue. "We just had a rough practice [Sunday], and I'm a little sore," Deng said. "Some days it feels better than others. It's definitely not as bad as it was. The last game (Friday against the Knicks) is the best it's felt. It's just one of those things I'll probably have to be dealing with all season." -- Chicago Tribune</div></p> </div>
