With the NBA regular season just nine short days away, players and teams are turning it up a notch to prepare for the first meaningful games since spring.
Chris Paul dropped 40 last night. Kevin Durant 36 two nights before.
Luol Deng doesn’t bring that type of offensive firepower to the table, but he’s still more than ready to get back on the court with the Chicago Bulls, a popular favorite to dethrone the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference.
9 days to the NBA tip off. You guys ready? #NBAcountdown http://t.co/EmTBXT3k9d
— Luol Deng (@LuolDeng9) October 21, 2013
Everyone remembers Chicago’s excruciatingly frustrating, injury-plagued season that ended, almost miraculously, in the second round of last years playoffs against the Miami Heat. Realistically, they never stood a chance. Their efforts were applauded, and they had the entire offseason to heal. Oh, and Derrick Rose was finally going to be back.
Derrick Rose is back, but that doesn’t mean the Bulls are healthy now. And Deng is one player voicing his concerns:
“I shouldn’t be worried, but I am,” said Luol Deng, the Bulls’ longest-tenured player. “Because of what we’re after and how we feel about our chances this season, the quicker we have everybody back the better.”
“It is only preseason, but it’s important to get everybody playing,” Deng said. “We practice hard, but a game atmosphere with timeouts and everything, we need a rhythm and a good idea of who is playing with who.
“Jimmy hasn’t played with Jo much. Jo hasn’t played much with Jimmy. Mike (Dunleavy) hasn’t played much with Jo. Jimmy and Mike haven’t played with each other. There are a lot of lineups we need to get acclimated. At least we’re doing a good job of doing the little stuff and putting in the extra work.”
Butler and Rose have only played in two games together, and Butler is ailing with a bruised knee. Joakim Noah is sidelined with a groin injury. Backup point guard, Kirk Hinrich, is out with a concussion.
Chicago opens the season against the Miami Heat, and plays New York and Oklahoma City in its first five games. It’s going to be a difficult start for a team incorporating its star player back into the lineup with several key players out. And falling behind in a top-heavy Eastern Conference isn’t the best idea. Home court will be very important come April as Miami, Indiana, Brooklyn and New York all have championship aspirations.
It’s about time they catch a few breaks in Chicago, but they have to get healthy first.
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Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.