It's Luol Deng...to the Rescue?, Part 2

Luol Deng is a grown-ass man.

This phrase is not to be taken lightly. Men grow older every day, but as women are fond of saying, not all of them grow up.

Luol Deng used to be one of these childish men. He was soft, content to shoot jump shots and stay out of the lane. He was moody, a sullen figure on the bench in street clothes after his latest injury.

Somewhere in the midst of the 2010 playoffs, Lu grew up.

The Bulls were hopelessly outmatched by the Cavaliers that season, but Lu gallantly went toe-to-toe with an adamant LeBron James. He bodied James, he drove on him, he made plays. I finally stopped yelling obscenities at my television when he touched the ball.

Then, Tom Thibodeau was hired, the Bulls went on their determined run last year, and Luol Deng became the man. He was that most revered of sports terms: the glue. Deng was the indispensable player; the guy that holds the team together, the guy who fills in the gaps.

It was said that Derrick Rose was the MVP of the league, but Luol Deng was the MVP of the Bulls.

Luol Deng is a grown-ass man.

Pacing yourself


When Deng went down with a wrist injury last week, it was the latest in a rash of maladies that had affected the Bulls' roster. Rose had a sprained toe, Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah had sustained sprained ankles, Rip Hamilton's groin, CJ Watson's bad elbow. Aside from the astounding fact that Carlos Boozer had remained healthy through all this, the Bulls were severely banged up...but kept winning.

Then Deng went down in a blowout victory, and the injury was revealed to be more than a minor bump: a torn ligament in his non-shooting wrist.

The glue was gone.

The defense became shakier, as the Bulls started giving up big individual games and allowing teams to top the century mark. The offensive options were limited with Hamilton still on the shelf.

The Bulls' steady Winnebago that had been carving a path of destruction across the NBA landscape had become a Yugo, ready to shake itself to pieces at any moment.

The Indiana Pacers knew this, and Frank Vogel's chip-on-the-shoulder upstarts managed to deal the Bulls their first home loss of the season, as Chicago shot 40 percent for the game and scored only 16 points in the fourth quarter. The absence of Luol Deng loomed large as Danny Granger got loose late for several offensive rebounds.

The Last Jedi of (South) Sudan


The Bulls have their early-season marquee matchup tomorrow with the vaunted Miami Heat. Wade has returned from his own injury, LeBron is in usual form (though he still can't consistently hit a three), Shane Battier has given the Heat even more of a defensive presence and Norris Cole is all he was touted to be.

The Bulls would have had a tough matchup to begin with. But with no Deng, LeBron will have a much easier time to work. He might even record a field goal in the fourth quarter.

Proof that kings really hail from the motherland.

The Bulls have shown they can win without Deng, without Rose, shoot, they've shown they can win without half the active roster. But against a Miami Heat team at full strength, they will need every hand on deck, from  Derrick Rose to Mike James. Carlos Boozer will be better than he was last year against Chris Bosh. Joakim Noah will be better. Rip Hamilton will provide scoring and vision much better than Keith Bogans. But a major piece will be most likely be missing tomorrow, and it may be the most important one.

Help us, Luol Deng. You may be our only hope.

See you in the cheap seats.

JS

What's Good: The Five "WOOOOOO!"'s of the Holiday (Sports) Season

It's almost a cop-out to do a holiday-themed blog post. I'll admit (okay, I'll brag), the Martin Luther King Day post on LeBron James was different, but it was still a "there's a holiday coming up, let's write something relating to that!" entry.

However, Thanksgiving is a winter sports tradition. There's the dozens of football games on Thanksgiving Day, college basketball throughout the weekend, hockey, and of course, the many families who go outside and take it upon themselves to work up a sweat through spirited competition, whether it be over the pigskin or the puck.

Things are somewhat bleak this Turkey Day without pro basketball and the recent injury to Bears' QB "Baby Fat" Jay Cutler, but never fear, Chicagoans: there is always something sports related to make you smile. So without further ado, I give you the first annual LitCS "Thanksgiving WOOOOO!" List.

Why the "WOOOOO!", you ask? Because there is no greater symbol of elation and joy than Ric Flair (see below).

Ah, Al Snow. You never cease to be unimpressive.

Now, for the list:

5. The Cubs have Theo Epstein.

Am I mad? Yes. Have I scoffed repeatedly and said, "Theo, no Theo, the Cubs still are going to tank?" Yes.

Am I frightened they might be good? You bet I am.

Theo Epstein played the Boy Wonder in Boston, bringing the Red Sox their first championship in 86 years. Then, rather than have them wait another near-century, he put the pieces in place for another chip in 2007. Theo is an incredibly smart man, a part of the "sabermetrics generation" of MLB, and like Kenny Williams, he's not afraid to damn the stats every once in awhile and go for a high-profile free agent. With Theo as prez and Tom Ricketts' bankroll, the Cubs could finally start to win consistently. (I'm going to go vomit now.)

4. No Bulls means no Boozer.

Carlos Boozer and Chris Bosh have more in common than initials. They both play the power forward spot, they are both skilled around the basket, and they were the most maligned players on the two best teams in the Eastern Conference. Bosh was able to get some under-the-radar redemption due to his solid playoff number, but Booz almost disappeared for the Bulls (unless Derrick Rose was dunking on Joel Anthony. Then you could hear Carlos screaming from Alaska.)

The Bulls might not be playing, but at least we don't have to see Booz fail in those many in-game situations where he's supposed to succeed. Such as playing defense.

3. It's Caleb Time!

If you've buried the memory of the Bears' painful loss to the Packers in last season's NFC Championship game, try and dig up a sequence from the fourth quarter. Specifically, the minutes between Jay's knee injury and B.J. Raji's stupid dance.

Todd Collins came in to replace Jay and, as he has been his entire life, was ineffective. So Lovie was left with no choice but to go with third-stringer Caleb Hanie. He promptly threw an interception which the Packers returned for a touchdown, seemingly sealing the game. Thousands of Bears fans probably turned off their TVs in disgust at that point and prepared themselves for the lonely coming winter.

Those thousands of fans missed Hanie's next two drives: a TD pass to Earl Bennett up the left sideline, and a scintillating drive to the Packer 30-yard-line. Of course, the next throw was the pick to Raji that ended the ballgame, but it didn't matter. The unknown Caleb Hanie had come into the largest game of his professional career and stood tall. He threw picks, sure, but he didn't shy away from what he had to do. Erase one of those bad throws, and the Bears take Green Bay to overtime.

Now, it's Caleb's turn again. With three mid-level opponents on the upcoming schedule (Raiders, Chiefs, Broncos), it will be a litmus test for the man I hope will be Chicago's next folk sports hero.

2. Steve Breaston pays homage to the once-great Razor Ramon.

If you haven't watched the "E:60" piece on pro wrestler Scott Hall, do so. It's a sobering reminder of the dangers of drug abuse while living the good life as an entertainer. The man my mother still calls "Razor Ramon" is little more than a shell of a man ravaged by drugs, alcohol, and injuries.

Still, he was great in his time, and his macho image has not been forgotten. Especially in the case of Steve Breaston, who oozed a little machismo with this touchdown celebration:

Steve wanted "the world and everything in it." Too bad he's with the Cardinals.

At this point, don't be sad for Scott Hall. Be happy for his time as "The Bad Guy".

1. The New Braves first appearance on the national stage.

It's been a short honeymoon for the new Bradley Braves and they've lived through the early fire, with a record of 3-1. Their first loss came yesterday to familiar foe Wofford. Now they face their first true test of the season: Friday night against 11th-ranked Wisconsin at the Chicago Invitational Challenge.

It's not the same as going into Cameron Indoor Stadium after a slew of injuries to face top-ranked Duke, but the Braves will have to climb the proverbial mountain in order to challenge Bo Ryan's Badgers. The matchup to watch: Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor vs. Dyricus Simms-Edwards. The dynamic point guards have to ability to slash, finish in the traffic, and hit jump shots. Whoever defends the perimeter the best should have the advantage. I'll be tweeting from the game, so follow me @kwandarykitten for updates on Friday.

For all you Sox and Blackhawks fans out there, don't worry. There's still promise for your squads yet. So tomorrow afternoon, join hands with your families, take stock of your life and be thankful for everything you do have. Remember: the seats may be cheap, but at least you got to the game.

Happy Thanksgiving, and see you in the cheap seats.

WOOOOOO!

JS

The Dangers of Booze(r)

Ten years from now, if I said to you, "Remember when that NBA star left Cleveland without telling the front office and the affronted owner wrote a letter to the fans about him?", you'd say I was talking about LeBron James, without question. No problem with that; the "summer of 'The Decision'" was one of the craziest months pro basketball has ever seen.

But if you said I was talking about King James, you'd be wrong.

Turns about six years earlier, another established Cavs star took a fast powder out the back door of Cleveland and failed to mention to the owner or GM that he was leaving.

Ladies, gentlemen, let me tell you a little story about Carlos Boozer.

The first letter

After cementing his status as the best basketball player to come out of Alaska since Sarah Palin, young Carlos Boozer chose to head south and play for Coach K and Duke University. Whether this choice set the stage for future controversial events, we can only speculate. We can say with certainty, however, that Duke players are notoriously soft and have a "punk" quality about them. (Not really, although Duke would produce Jay Williams, Luol Deng and J.J. Redick.)

After two years at Duke and a national championship, Boozer set his sights on the NBA. The Cleveland Cavaliers ended up taking him and he immediately produced in his first two seasons, the second alongside rookie LeBron James. With his rookie contract up, the Cavs offered a contract to young Booz: $39 mil over six years.

The Utah Jazz offered a six-year contract as well, but for $70 mil.

The Cavs could not match those numbers with their salary cap, and Boozer signed with Utah. Here's where things get sketchy.

The Cavaliers came out and said they had a "handshake agreement" with Carlos about his contract status, which he then broke by signing with Utah. Boozer, in turn, said there was no such agreement, that "he's not a guy who gives his word then takes it away."

That's where the letter comes in. In an eerie parallel to the LeBron situation six years later, then-owner Gordon Gund posted a letter on the Cavs' website, explaining the situation to the fans. Which side was right was never fully uncovered. But Boozer's credibiltiy was never fully unsullied.

The second stop

It'd be easy to say C-Booz went to Utah and became their best power forward since Karl Malone. To some point, that was true. But as Deron Williams didn't come along until 2005, Booz and the Jazz wallowed in it for awhile, to the point that three months into the '05 season, Jazz fans were waiting for the return of Andrei Kirilenko to right the ship.

When AK-47 is your best player, you dream about a point guard. Every night.

Even after the Deron-to-Boozer pick-and-roll took off, there where questions. Late Jazz owner Larry Miller questioned his effort after he was injured in his first season with Utah, and he ended up missing 135 games in six years.

As if that weren't enough, Booz suffered from the athlete's most feared affliction, worse than an ACL tear or a high-ankle sprain: foot-in-mouth disease.

During the 2008-09 season, he publicly said he was going to opt out of his contract and dip out of Utah (which didn't happen), which Miller called "one of the top 10 stupidest things he'd heard an NBA player say in 24 years." Then in the offseason, he went on Chicago and Miami radio stations and basically said he wouldn't be in Utah after 2009.

And he was right. The rest is history, or present if you want to think of it as such: the Bulls cleared cap space, missed out on Bosh and LeBron, but landed C-Booz.

The third man

Since coming back from a broken right pinky finger, Booz has done a great job in Chicago, at least according to the numbers. He's averaging a double-double and finally has given the Bulls the low-post scorer they've never had. He's given Derrick Rose some protection as well, and provides veteran leadership.

Yet, the potential problems bubble just under the surface. I watched a Bulls-Bucks game a few weeks ago where Ersan Ilyasova—I'll say again: Ersan Ilyasova—made Carlos look absolutely silly on defense. Jumping at shot fakes, getting lost in the lane, that sort of thing.

That has been an ongoing problem of the season, and something the Bulls knew about, but on a Tom Thibodeau team, defense is going to be a priority.

The hand injury did nothing to assuage Bulls fans about Boozer's durability. In fact, it's almost a parallel to how his Utah career began.

Finally, when Derrick Rose was asked if Joakim Noah or Boozer talked more on the court, Rose answered "Boozer" without hesitation. Hopefully, that doesn't extend to the media. We already ready know it extends to the hip-hop world.

(Editor's note: If Booz is going to drop a verse on a Twista track during the season, can it at least be good?)

On a team with the budding superstar (Rose) and the soul of the squad (Noah), Boozer is, in reality, the third guy. We've seen how well the Bulls are going now, and everyone's got their sights set on a championship run.

But just like with the booze, things that start so well can go south very quickly. Just ask Dan Gilbert.

See you in the cheap seats.

JS