Luol Deng was impressive for the Chicago Bulls in 2011-12, and he has been even better this season. The ninth-year forward out of Duke has stepped up and improved in a few categories, including scoring and field-goal percentage.
Deng is playing great on both ends of the floor. And for his efforts, he was recently named an All-Star reserve for the second straight year.
The Bulls, who've been without superstar Derrick Rose (ACL injury) this season, have surprised everyone, posting a 28-18 record and holding the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
While you can credit defense and Joakim Noah's All-Star play for the Bulls' success, the team would be nothing more than lottery-bound without Deng in the picture.
Deng has hit the offensive glass a tad better than he did last season. He's averaging 1.9 offensive rebounds per game after pulling down 1.4 in 2011-12.
Deng has grabbed a total of 76 offensive boards thus far, just one shy of his total from last season, in which he played 54 games.
Deng isn't a "point forward" like the Miami Heat's LeBron James or the Denver Nuggets' Andre Iguodala, but he's a decent facilitator nonetheless.
He is currently fourth on the Bulls in assists this season with 3.0 per contest. And he owns an assist percentage of 13.3, which is a little bit better than last year's percentage (11.7).
Deng has three seven-assist games so far this season. That's pretty impressive, seeing that he only had two all of last season.
According to Hoopdata, he is shooting about the same at the rim, 3-9 feet away, 16-23 feet as well as beyond the arc. However, his percentage from 10-15 feet has skyrocketed from 12.5 to 45.7.
Deng's jumper off the dribble is much better than it was last season, as it's obvious that he put in a lot of work during the offseason.
Deng has stepped up and been that guy, leading the team with 17.1 points per game, nearly two points higher than last season (15.3). While he isn't going to compete for a scoring title, 17 points a night is rather respectable.
He must love facing the New York Knicks, as he has averaged 28 points in three games against them, including a season-high 32 points.
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