My favorite moment of Saturday’s Game 1 victory over the Indiana Pacers wasn’t Rose’s block-spin-layup sequence in the 1st quarter, or his game-tying layup-FT-layup sequence in the 4th quarter, or Noah’s consecutive blocks on Josh McRoberts in the game’s final moments. It was Luol Deng inciting the U.C. crowd to furious enthusiasm following his technical foul.
Deng’s point guard, teammate, and team leader Rose had just been knocked hard to the ground, and the soft-spoken, well-mannered Deng took exception, rushing over to confront the aggressor, Indiana forward Tyler Hansbrough. In most respects, it was a careless act; the Bulls had trailed all game, and now Rose was going to the line with a chance to cut the Indiana lead to three, and here goes Luol defending his teammate’s honor in a move that could well be described as impetuous and rash.
And yet, had an “enforcer” like Noah or Kurt Thomas committed this basketball sin, we would have laughed and applauded their protectiveness. The announcers alluded to such a respect earlier in the broadcast, in fact, after Indiana center Roy Hibbert, speaking in a taped interview about how to stop Derrick Rose, said something to the effect of, “It’s not easy, but we will try to give him a hello at the rim.”
“A ‘hello’ at the rim,” the announcers laughed. “I tell you what, you give Derrick Rose a ‘hello’ at the rim and you’ll be getting a hello of your own from that man, Kurt Thomas.”
From the usually diplomatic Deng, however, drawing a technical foul late in a playoff game for upholding “honor” seemed needlessly reckless.
Which is why it was so exhilarating to see him pumping up the crowd after Indiana’s Darren Collison bricked the technical free throw.
When a big man protects the little man, nobody has an issue. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
This was a good dude knowingly being the bad guy. It was the quiet, straight-A’s junior high student playing hooky on a Friday in May. Yeah, it was a rash move. I’m pissed! We’re losing Game 1 at home to a 37-win team! And you’re attacking my teammate and our star! Damn right I got T’d up! Come on Bulls fans! GET LOUD.
Since the start of his Bulls tenure, no player has received more undue fan wrath than Luol Deng. He’s been called soft, (despite carrying the emotional burden of his homeland) over-paid (despite being outside the top 30 in salary and inside it in scoring), and an underachiever (despite a 19-7-57% season at age 21 and his career 16.0 PPG).
Now here he was, letting loose in his franchise’s first top-seed playoff game in 13 years, flouting convention, defying his image, embracing his inner Rodman and Oakley.
I loved it.
Luol Deng is the thread that binds the Chicago Bulls post-dynasty resurrection. Like Marcellus Wallace, Deng has never been the main character; starring roles went first to Hinrich and Gordon (Vincent and Jules?) and then later to Derrick Rose, with even Noah and now Carlos Boozer billed higher than the long-armed forward from Sudan.
But like Ving Rhames in Tarantino’s grand opus, the story of the 2004-2011 Bulls would not work without the considerable talents of Luol Deng, and his willingness to take a smaller role offensively even while the Bulls ride him for 40 minutes a game. Like Scottie Pippen before him, Deng regularly gets the call to lead the second unit, allowing Rose, Noah, and Boozer some time to rest without handing the reins entirely to the bench. They don’t do that if you don’t matter…
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Early in Game 1, a guy named Josh commented on a Facebook thread between Carrie’s brother Frank and myself, lamenting his Pacers’ spot in the playoffs at the detriment of draft position. “I’d rather have a high draft pick than four unimpressive playoff showings,” he wrote dejectedly. “But that’s just me.”
Luol Deng never became an All-Star, but he's a star for the Bulls.
In response, I made the same argument I made the past two seasons whenever any of my fellow Bulls fans lamented the same. Our Bulls had snuck into the postseason twice with 41-41 records, dueling memorably with the defending champion Boston Celtics in 2009, and then falling last year to the mighty Cavaliers in five measly games.
The Boston series was a story unto itself, entertaining and memorable, yet with our predicted end result – a Celtics series win – the same. The Cleveland series was what we thought the Boston series would be: quick and vicious.
Yet those 12 seemingly meaningless first round games provided Rose and Noah with the experience and bad taste needed to enter this postseason with the proper focus. Chris Paul of the Hornets said it best last night after his team upset the Lakers: “It’s the playoffs. It’s a whole ‘nother thing.”
The 2009 and 2010 Bulls could have just as easily missed the playoffs as make it, and perhaps with the improvement of Rose, the turnover on the roster, and the new head coach, the team still would have won 62 games. But then they would have entered the playoffs fresh pups instead of trained dogs. Who knows? For Rose and Noah, those 12 games may have been the difference between folding to Indiana and storming back for the win.
And for the young, hungry, 37-win Pacers, going toe-to-toe with the Bulls in the first round may be exactly the boost they need for next season.
All I know is my Bulls have the league’s best record and, for the first time since MJ and Scottie, a shot at a championship. Glad I’m here to see it. Glad Deng is too. It’s always better to be in than out. Remember that, Josh.
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Jack M Silverstein is a freelance writer covering music, sports, and community in Chicago. He has written his opinion column "On the John" for 11 years. Say hey at 