It's Luol Deng.....to the Rescue?

This spring, I sat in front of my TV screaming as the Chicago Bulls faced the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

I wasn't screaming at the Bulls to be better or play ball. After all, they had barely squeezed their way into the postseason while the Cavs had chalked 60-plus wins behind a determined LeBron James.

No, on this particular day (Game 4, I think), I was screaming at Luol Deng.

A variety of things in a few languages, but most of them centered on him being "soft".

I think I actually yelled "soft" in Spanish at the time, though I've forgotten that piece of vocabulary. However, the theme of my venom remained the same: "Come on, Lu, ****** drive the lane! Marshmallow-*** ***************!"

Thank goodness I wasn't home. My mother might have disowned me.

Now the Bulls have arrived at a new season, full of promise and fortune. The news has mostly focused on Derrick Rose's MVP chances, the eventual return of Carlos Boozer and Tom Thibodeau's coaching chops.

Mostly, that is, except for Portland. After Monday night, sportswriters in Portland probably had a lot to say about Luol Deng (or the "Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man", as I referred to him during the second half of the season).

And why not? He had just dropped an astonishing 40 points on the Blazers as the Bulls cruised to a 12-point win. Most gratifying of all to me, D-Rose had double digits in assists. Finally, he got the chance to play like a real point guard!

It's been a long time since the Bulls had spot-up shooters who would have road crowds groaning as soon as they put the ball in the air (Paxson/Kerr/Kukoc/Gordon anyone?) As a result, Derrick Rose is often limited to pick-and-rolls with Joakim Noah or dangerous drives to the hoop. As we saw with last year's nasty falls against Orlando, such gameplanning might result in a quick career for the Chicago Kid.

That's where Lu comes in.

Keep Lu shooting, the Bulls are good. Get him to drive the lane? The Bulls are very good. Keep him healthy for an entire season?

The Bulls become dangerous.

Granted, the bench players need time to jell. Both C.J. Watson and James Johnson will have to step up and provide support on both ends, as will Kyle Korver. But as proven on Opening Night, the Bulls starting five can hang with just about anyone—and that was with a snazzily-dressed Carlos Boozer sitting on the sidelines.

The Bulls have dangled Sweet Lu on more than a few proposed trades since they drafted him, but unlike crowd-favorite Kirk Hinrich, they've kept him around (Shame sending poor Kirk to Washington to play behind John Wall and a frustrated and terrifying Gilbert Arenas, by the way). Now's his time to respond.

Otherwise I'll start learning to say soft in Swahili, just for fun.