Looks like Davis beat me to the punch for the first non-Bri post on the Bri Blog. I’m excited to add my non-expert analysis, comments and Brants™ in the weeks to come. I’ll try not to overlap with Brian too much even though we root for the same Chicago teams, the Michigan Wolverines … and the Evanston Wildkits (yes, we were the “Wildkits,” not “Wildcats”).
Brian and Davis have been talking NBA playoffs, so let’s stick with that. Everyone’s commenting on the mess that is Carlos Boozer – indeed, if I have to see him get into that low crouch one more time, only to be immediately blown past by the man he’s guarding, I might lose it. But let’s step back and give a shout out to Luol Deng, who’s been flying a bit under the radar this playoffs.
Many of us have been critical of Deng in recent years – particularly after he got his big contract – but this year, and throughout the playoffs, he’s been fantastic. Deng is the kind of guy you can’t help but root for, in part because of his life story and humanitarian efforts (see this and this), but also because he works his butt off to extract every ounce of talent from his somewhat limited athletic potential. He clearly worked hard last summer to improve his lateral quickness and shooting range. The three pointer, in particular, has been a nice addition. He also logged some serious minutes during the regular season, playing in all 82 games and helping the Bulls endure the injuries to Boozer and Noah. Although he didn't have to do much in game 3 due to Rose’s ridiculous 44 point outburst, assuming the Bulls get past Atlanta, his defensive matchup with LeBron or Paul Pierce will be key.
I'd love to see him add some championship hardware to those humanitarian awards.
No comments:
Post a Comment