Flickr Photo via Keith Allison

You knew it was just a matter of time before the Bulls’ entire team actually showed up for a post season game, and they finally did it in Chicago’s 93-73 win over the Hawks on Thursday, expelling Atlanta from any hopes of postseason glory.

The Bulls got going in this one and never really stopped, leaving little chance for an Atlanta squad that was enduring one of its worst shooting nights of the postseason.

Surprisingly, the biggest source of offense for the Bulls on Thursday came from Carlos Boozer, who dropped 23 on the Hawks in the win. Boozer has struggled throughout this postseason, both with his scoring touch and his turnovers, so Thursday was a big step in the right direction for him.

Chicago’s big free agent catch of last summer found his rhythm in this one, scoring on 10 of his 16 shots from the field, with 10 boards to add to his double-double. Seemingly every jumper that Boozer launched fell for him, and he played with more confidence than we had seen to this point in the postseason.

His scoring frenzy took some of the pressure off of Derrick Rose, who only had to play 38 minutes in the win. The MVP did make an impact though, with 19 points and 12 dimes, as well as the fact that the team was a game-high plus-24 with Rose on the court.

The Bulls’ bench also saw plenty of time again in this one, and did manage to make another impact, just as they’ve done all season. Omer Asik played the most minutes off the bench, scoring five points and grabbing five boards. Taj Gibson also had another hot shooting night, getting five of his seven shots to drop, which were good for 10 on the night.

The Hawks didn’t have such luck shooting on Thursday night. They shot just a touch over 36 percent for the game, with Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford combining to go 9-28 from the field. The fact that their two biggest scoring options, once again, let their team down due to poor shooting and a stout Chicago defense, ultimately doomed the Hawks.

The one Hawk that did have a strong game was Josh Smith, who was second on the team with 18 points. But he had an all-around solid game for Atlanta, with five rebounds, a couple of blocks, and three steals of the night.

With the win, the Bulls will now move on to face the powerhouse Miami Heat, who cruised by an old and hobbled Boston Celtics squad earlier this week. While the Heat were nearly unanimously handed the NBA title after Wednesday’s Game 5 win, there is certainly more to this series that meets the eye.

The early stages of Chicago’s Game 5 on Tuesday night had all the makings of what Game 3 was for the Bulls. They jumped out to an early lead and looked to be running away with it, but the persistent Hawks would stay in it until the late-going in this one, with the Bulls eventually grabbing the 95-83 win.

The Bulls started off hot, leading by 11 points after the first quarter. Rather than Derrick Rose taking the early shots, which he did, it was Luol Deng who had the hot hand, scoring the first seven points for the Bulls in this one. As the Bulls pulled away early, Keith Bogans scored eight consecutive points to help the Bulls jump out to their early lead.

But the Hawks would not be denied. Aided by another sound performance from the youngster Jeff Teague, as well as some solid play early from Josh Smith, the Hawks crept back into this one in the second and early third quarters. Towards the end of the third, they would eventually hold their first lead over the Bulls.

It wasn’t as if the Bulls were playing poorly, either. The Bulls shot almost 49 percent from the field and were sound defensively, but the Hawks were also solid in their shooting, finishing with about a 48 percent. Even with the Atlanta rally, though, the Bulls held a one-point lead after three.

After blowing a double digit lead that they held early, many were certainly weary of the Bulls heading into the game’s final frame. Searching for energy, the Bulls got it from the usual source, as well as one that was a bit more unexpected for some.

The Bulls outscored the Hawks 26-15 for the quarter, with Rose accounting for 11 of those points. Coming up with another 11 of them was Taj Gibson, who did  not score in the previous three quarters. He provided a nice spark off the bench, which was absolutely necessary on a night in which Joakim Noah and Kyle Korver combined for zero points.

Atlanta didn’t do themselves any favors on Tuesday either. Despite a solid night from Josh Smith, and another sound performance from Teague, the  Hawks’ major scoring threats, Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford, fell silent once again. The two combined for 17 points, and 15 of those came courtesy of Johnson.

Even though it wasn’t the prettiest win for the Bulls, this shouldn’t come as anything new to fans. This isn’t a team that’s going to blow many teams out, even if they were able to decimate Atlanta in the regular season. Expect another gritty performance when the Bulls try and close out the series in Atlanta on Thursday night.

Flickr Photo via Keith Allison

The Chicago Bulls were flat out awful on Monday night. They were sluggish and couldn’t hit the shots they needed as they fell 103-95 to the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1.

Derrick Rose struggled early, but did play better later on. However, he sprained his ankle and his status for Game 2 isn’t completely certain. Carlos Boozer continued his audition for the next film version of The Invisible Man. And Joakim Noah went back to his early postseason form after a few great games against the Indiana Pacers.

But there was actually one Bull who did impress on Monday, despite the disappointment the Bulls carried with them after the loss: Luol Deng.

Deng, for the most part, has been the Bulls’ real secondary scoring option this season behind Derrick Rose. He averaged a touch over 17 points and just under six boards per for the top-seeded Bulls.

This postseason he hasn’t been as electric, but he’s still been solid nonetheless. If anything, Monday’s game showed that he needs to play a bigger part in the offense than he has been thus far in the playoffs.

Against Atlanta in Game 1, Deng shot 8-of-12 from the field. He found the looks and had the hot hand, finishing with 21 points in the loss.

Yet, Deng didn’t get the ball nearly as much as he should have. Taking just 12 shots on the night when he’s one of the only guys actually making shots is really inexcusable, and for that the finger points at Derrick Rose.

He may be the Bulls’ best scoring option, but Rose should not be taking 27 shots, especially when he was struggling the way he did on Monday. He made just two of his 10 first half shots, which should have been an early indication that he should have been sharing the wealth in the latter parts of the game.

If Deng gets the ball more in Game 2 on Wednesday, the positives should stretch beyond just his scoring touch.

Joe Johnson killed the Bulls on Monday. He shot 12-18 and dropped 34 points on the night, including a perfect 5-5 from beyond the arc. Much of that goes back to the lack of touches for Deng, who found himself in a matchup with Johnson for a good portion of the night. More offensive production from Deng means more work for Johnson which could mean less trouble for the Bulls on defense.

With Derrick Rose not likely going to be at 100-percent heading into Wednesday, it’s important for him to get Deng the ball early and often. As long as he does that, things should be much easier for a Bulls team that only lost by eight, despite how poorly they actually played.

Well, that was ugly.

The Chicago Bulls couldn’t have played much worse against the Atlanta Hawks, bookending the game with sluggish play in their 103-95 loss to Atlanta on Monday night.

It didn’t help that the MVP, Derrick Rose made just two of his 10 shots from the field in the first half, including going 0-for-7 in the opening frame. Given that he has been Chicago’s no. 1 scoring option this postseason, that’s a recipe for disaster.

It helped even less that Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah combined for just 17 rebounds, a surprise given the reemergence of Noah over the last stretch of games against Indiana.

But the real kicker on Monday night was Joe Johnson. A guy the Bulls targeted briefly last summer prior to his re-signing with Atlanta, there was no stopping Johnson, even for a defense like Chicago. He shot 12-of-18 from the field, including 5-5 from beyond the arc, torching the Bulls for 34 points on the night.

It wasn’t as if he was getting tremendous help from the rest of his mates on the offensive side. Josh Smith struggled from the field, shooting just 3-11, and only one other starter, Jeff Teague, scored in double figures.

It’s a rarity that the Bulls’ bench mob finds themselves outplayed, but that was the case on Monday. Jamal Crawford touched the Bulls for 22 off the bench, seeing 35 minutes of gametime.

On the Bulls’ side of things, C.J. Watson and Ronnie Brewer were a combined minus-25 off the bench for Chicago. The only real source of scoring off the bench came from Kyle Korver, who dropped nine on 3-4 shooting from long idstance.

If there is a positive to pull from this game, it’s that the Bulls probably couldn’t have played a much worse game than this, and were still in it for the majority of the game.

It’s unlikely that we’ll see Derrick Rose have another putrid shooting night, having gone just 11-27 on Monday, but he also needs to take less shots than he did in Game 1. With Luol Deng having the hot hand, going 8-12, he needs to have the ball in his hands more often against a softer defensive team like Atlanta.

With a day off on Tuesday before Wednesday’s Game 2 at the United Center, you can be sure that Tom Thibodeau will have his squad ready to roll as they attempt to even up the series.

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Derrick Rose is licking his chops right about now.

News surfaced late Friday afternoon that Atlanta point guard Kirk Hinrich is doubtful after undergoing an MRI on his leg on Friday. Hinrich injured his hamstring in Atlanta’s Game 6 win over the Orlando Magic on Tuesday.

Not only is Hinrich doubtful for the Hawks, but he’s doubtful for the entire series with the Bulls after landing awkwardly against the Magic. It won’t hurt them too much offensively, but Hinrich’s injury could be critical for the Hawks.

Hinrich began the season with the Washington Wizards, after being dealt by these Chicago Bulls for a draft pick to free up some salary. He was shipped to the Hawks in June.

Atlanta was heading into the series with Chicago confident, much of that due to the defensive ability of the former Bull Hinrich, who, even Rose has said, guards him tougher than most guys in the league. With Hinrich out, it begs the question as to just who will defend Derrick Rose in this series for Atlanta.

Jamal Crawford could take his place to guard Rose, as could Joe Johnson. But no matter who the Hawks are able to put on the MVP candidate, it’s clear that Hinrich would have been the best option to give Atlanta any hopes of slowing down Chicago’s star point guard.

It’s certainly an emotional letdown for the Hawks, and is going to make life very difficult as they try to stop Rose, who averaged over 27 points in the opening series against the physical Indiana Pacers.

Chicago Tribune Photo

After quickly dispatching of the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the 2011 NBA playoffs, the Bulls could only sit and wait while it was determined whether they’d play the Atlanta Hawks or Orlando Magic in this year’s Eastern Conference semis. While it comes as somewhat of a surprise, the Bulls are sure to have their hands full with the Hawks club that, for the most part, cruised by the Magic in the first round.

Many fans would have preferred the Bulls meet the Magic in Round 2, and understandably so. The Magic have Dwight Howard, but beyond him, the Bulls would hold the advantage at pretty much every position. The Hawks, on the other hand, are sure to cause some match up problems for these Bulls heading into the second round.

Let’s look at the breakdown.

Point Guard

Is this even a debate? While it seems almost futile to note that Derrick Rose is miles better than former Bull Kirk Hinrich on the offensive end. But where Hinrich could give Rose a slight run for his money is on the defensive side. However, it should be noted that Hinrich isn’t even completely healthy right now, and if he’s not, the Hawks may have lost their best shot at defending the NBA MVP-favorite.

After hurting his ankle in Game 4 against the Pacers, Rose didn’t look too slowed in the Game 5, racking up over 20 points again. A matchup with the Hawks should prove much more favorable for Rose and the Bulls offense. While a better overall team than that pesky Indiana squad, the Hawks are not nearly the physical team that the Pacers are, making life much easier for Chicago, especially Rose.

Shooting Guard

Again, futile. With Keith Bogans starting at the two-guard spot, virtually every team in the NBA is going to have an advantage over the Bulls at that spot. Bogans was awful in the first four games of the series for the Bulls against Indy, and played easily his best game in Game 5, when the Bulls ousted the Pacers from the postseason. He scored on five of his seven shots from beyond the arc, finishing with 15 points for the game.

Bogans, who did get a vote for Defensive Player of the Year, will have his hands full trying to guard the Hawks at the two, in former Phoenix Sun Joe Johnson. While he has a slight tendency to disappear, Johnson is electric at shooting guard for this Hawks team, surpassing the 20-point mark four times in the series with Orlando. Bogans, with a combination of Ronnie Brewer and occasionally Kyle Korver, are going to need their ‘A’ game on defense to slow down Atlanta’s best scoring option.

Small Forward

Luol Deng might just be the most underrated player in basketball. He brings it at both ends of the court, providing secondary scoring for the Bulls, while also quietly serving as one of the top defensive players at the three in the game. He struggled in two of the five games against Indy and their stout defense, but has been steady all year for this Bulls team.

He’ll be matching up with Josh Smith at small forward, a guy who shot just 3-14 in the clinching game for Atlanta on Thursday. He averaged a touch over 16 points and nine boards in the regular season, but will be matching up against the more consistent player in Deng. In the end, Deng’s consistency and shutdown defense give him the advantage over the explosive Smith.

Power Forward

Aside from the obvious advantage at shooting guard, power forward might be the only other clear advantage that Atlanta has over the Bulls. Carlos Boozer was flat out terrible in the opening series against the Pacers. He was constantly in foul trouble, couldn’t hold onto the ball, and now reports of a turf toe injury have surfaced, leaving Boozer’s status for Game 1 up in the air. Could Taj Gibson end up being an upgrade?

ATL certainly boasts the talent down low to make Chicago’s life very difficult. Al Horford quieted down Orlando’s Howard, which was a major part of the reason they were able to steal that series in a ‘quick’ six games. If Boozer can’t even get near his decent Game 2 performance (17 points, 12 rebounds) and continues to struggle, it’s going to be very difficult for not only the Bulls to compete with Horford, but for Boozer to find favor again with the Chicago fans.

Center

With the re-emergence of Joakim Noah in the second half of the Pacers series, this is almost as much of a landslide as point guard is. Noah regained that fire that has made him such a favorite in the Windy City, especially with his Game 4 performance, in which he notched 21 points and snatched 14 boards. If that same intensity shows up for Noah down low, it’s going to be very difficult for either of Atlanta’s centers, consisting of Jason Collins and Zaza Pachulia, to manage any sort of presence on the boards.

Bench

This one’s actually closer than you might think. The Bulls boast one of the top benches in the league, with guys like Korver, Brewer, Gibson, and Omer Asik, but the Hawks aren’t too far behind. Jamal Crawford is one of the best guys in the game coming off the bench, and Marvin Williams isn’t too shabby either. There’s little doubt that this series will be thrilling, even when the starters aren’t in.

The stage is set for a couple of the East’s top teams to play to a thrilling series. However, if Hinrich isn’t at full strength, Derrick Rose could run rampant over this Atlanta team. But on the flip side, Boozer is going to have to improve dramatically if the Bulls hope to have an easier time with Atlanta than they did with the Pacers in Round 1.

Prediction: Bulls in 6.

Saturday, Chicago answered the hype once again early in the season, by leaving their “circus trip” on the west coast with a 4-3 record. The first winning record on the annual road trip since Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were the kings of the court in 1998.

The pieces of talent and solid coaching are coming together to have the Bulls answer the hype, even though Boozer hasn’t played a game and won’t until Wednesday or Friday.

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At 9-6, the Bulls are on top of the central division and are the fourth best team in the Eastern Conference, but only a half game behind the Atlanta Hawks, who have played three more games than the Bulls. The Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic are only two and a half games ahead of the Bulls as they are tied with 12-4 records.

I’ve said this before, but the Bulls are doing all of this without Boozer.

On the road trip, Chicago played great basketball and gave each of its west coast opponents competition, which is the first time in 12 years.

The Bulls started the 7 games in 11 days road trip by defeat the Houston Rockets (5-11), which wasn’t a surprise because the Rockets are not playing well because they can’t find a way to include Kevin Martin in the offense or find someone on the bench to add any scoring.

Tony Parker, who had just been served divorce papers from Eva Longoria a few hours before the game, made sure his San Antonio Spurs (14-2) would get the win on the second game of Chicago’s road trip. The Spurs won 103-94, but the Bulls outscored the Spurs in three quarters of the game.

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San Antonio unleashed a 37-point scoring onslaught while only allowing the Bulls 12 points in the third quarter, which won the game for the Spurs. Parker scored 21 points and led the game with seven assists while Tim Duncan dropped 16 points and grabbed a season high 18 rebounds.

In the third game, Dirk Nowitzki scored 36 points for the Dallas Mavericks (12-4), but the Bulls got the win 88-83 because their defense over powered the high scoring Maverick offense.

The Los Angeles Lakers (13-4) bench beat the Bulls on the fourth game of the road trip as Shannon Brown scored 18 points in the first half off 4-of-5 shooting from the three-point line, then Steve Blake and Matt Barnes hit clutch threes in the fourth quarter to open the game up for the victory. The Lakers bench scored 39 points compared to the Bulls 10 points from the bench to win the game 98-91.

In the most thrilling game of the road trip, the Bulls beat the 8-9 Phoenix Suns 123-115 in double overtime. I can’t even lie about this one, the game was on my computer and the Bulls were down by 15 points in the third quarter. Instead of watching the rest of the game, I turned on a different game and played NBA2K11, thinking the game was over. My friend text me and asked if I was watching it because the Bulls forced overtime. I’ll never lose faith again.

Chicago defeated the 10-6 Denver Nuggets Nov. 8, 94-92, giving Carmelo Anthony fuel to lead his team to a 98-97 victory the second time around when the Bulls came to their place. Melo scored 22 points for the Nuggets including the game winning jumper.

Saturday, the Bulls finished the road trip by defeating the 4-11 Sacramento Kings, 96-85. Not much to speak about here, the Bulls dominated the game, including Rose breaking Tyreke Evans ankles more than once.

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As you can tell, there was a trend, win one-lose one, which might make you think, okay, that’s not impressive. But, it is, when you’re talking about games against three of the six best teams in the league in the Spurs, Lakers and Mavericks, plus the Nuggets, who are in the top eight in the Western Conference.

The Western Conference has seven teams with 10 or more wins, while the Eastern Conference has three: Magic, Celtics and Hawks.

Chicago has made a gigantic stride towards the top of the conference and with similar play as this road trip against the Western Conference, they will be approaching the top of the entire league.

Each year the Bulls begin their season facing some of the east’s worst teams and a few best, then get thrown to the wolves in the Western Conference for a long stay of at least seven or eight games. This year the Bulls play seven teams in 11 days beginning with the Houston Rockets Tuesday and ending with the Sacramento Kings Nov. 27.

Five of the seven teams the Bulls will face are top eight teams in the Western Conference.

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The Rockets and the Kings are the only two of the seven teams who would not be in the Western Conference Playoffs, if they started today. After the Bulls play the Rockets Tuesday, they play the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns and the Denver Nuggets.

Similar to past seasons, this road trip will be a deciding factor of where the Chicago Bulls stand in the Eastern conference.

If they can win five of the seven games they will probably move from the fourth spot to at least N0. three to move past the Atlanta Hawks, who have not been playing good basketball as of late.

The surprising thing is the Bulls are 5-3 and playing solid basketball without power forward Carlos Boozer. Chicago signed Boozer this summer because he would bring an inside offensive presence to open up the back court for Derrick Rose and Luol Deng.

Instead center Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson have been putting up great numbers to help the Bulls win games. Gibson’s 14.3 points per game, 6.4 rebounds and 60% shooting percentage are better than a few of the leagues “elite” players such as Miami Heat’s Chris Bosh.

Noah showed signs of being an all-star caliber player last season and has reaffirmed these claims averaging 16.5 points and is second in the league with 13.3 rebounds a game.

Deng showed little desire in the Bulls first two games, but has been playing out of his mind since then including going for a career high 40 points Nov. 1.

If the Bulls can continue to play how they have been as of late, there is no reason they can’t take five of these games. Chicago already beat Denver and shouldn’t have much problem with the Kings.

The Suns are an up-tempo offensive team, but the Bulls are a superb transition defense team.

Although I hate the Spurs, the Spurs and the Lakers are the only two teams I will pick to win against Chicago.

Either way, this road trip is important more than it has been in the past. Before, the Bulls were just going on another road trip to see if they could win two or three games and hopefully be above .500 when they came back to the Windy City.

This year, it’s different because they’re playing to be one of the top teams in the east and gain a large cushion from the bottom of the conference, even without Boozer.

Hopefully, Rose, Noah, Gibson and Deng can continue playing how they have been and let the rest of the league know the Bulls are a title contender.

Luol Deng led the way with a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds, as all five starters scored in double-digits and had at least one steal and block. In general, the Bulls bone stomped the Warriors in every aspect of the game.

In other games around the NBA on Thursday, the Boston Celtics manhandled the Miami Heat once again. The final score was 112-107, but it only became close in the late minutes with a Heat run, but other than that, the Celtics owned the Heat from the time the ball was jumped. Boston’s Ray Allen scored 35 points including his gift to hit seven three-pointers , while Rajon Rondo dished out 16 assists as he continues to lead the league in assists per game with 14.9.

Boston’s record doesn’t matter, but the Heat who put together a superstar threesome in Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh fell to 5-4 to have all my co-workers, Facebook pals and other bloggers laughing at Miami.

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The good thing is, I picked the Celtics to win because I remembered how they dominated the Heat in the paint and there is no one on the Miami roster who can contain Rondo from setting up everyone on his team.

Also, the New Orleans Hornets are the only undefeated team in the NBA as the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Denver Nuggets 118-112. Carmelo Anthony continues to dominate against any defensive player or team he wishes as he scored 32 points to led his team. Kobe Bryant also did his thing, scoring 34 points in the defeat.

Let’s see how my NBA picks worked out for Thursday and set some for Friday.

THURSDAY’S PICKS

Chicago Bulls beat Golden State Warriors 120-90…Right, the Bulls played almost a flawless game.

Boston Celtics beat Miami Heat 112-107…Right, the Heat have no answers for the Boston Celtics.

Denver Nuggets beat Los Angeles Lakers 118-112…Wrong, the Nuggets had been struggling while the Lakers were undefeated, but Melo showed he can tear up any defense.

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FRIDAY’S GAMES AND PICKS

Utah Jazz at Atlanta Hawks…Jazz, Deron Williams and Al Jefferson are becoming an unstoppable duo while the Hawks have fallen from their high level of play.

Houston Rockets at Indiana Pacers…Rockets, they have more skill.

Toronto Raptors at Orlando Magic…Magic, the Raptors are awful while the Magic have been playing above average, not great but good.

Charlotte Bobcats at Washington Wizards…Wizards, John Wall is making a statement.

New York Knicks at Minnesota Timberwolves…Knicks, Amare Stoudemire should get the win by himself, but they do have to D up Kevin Love.

Philadelphia 76ers at  Dallas Mavericks…Mavericks, the 76ers put up points, but Mavericks put up more.

Sacramento Kings at Phoenix Suns…Suns, although they’re a team on the decline, the Phoenix back court is still extremely talented with Steve Nash and Jason Richardson.

Portland Trailblazers at Oklahoma City Thunder…Blazers, LaMarcus Aldridge will have a field day offensively while Marcus Camby will control the glass.

Detroit Pistons at Los Angeles Clippers…Pistons, game of two lackluster teams, but the Pistons are healthy while the Clippers are banged up with Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman and Randy Foye all suffering from injuries.

MAKE YOUR PICKS

1) COMMENT BOX

2) EMAIL:  BRANDON.LACHANCE@BULLSHOME.COM

Deng was zombie-like on the court producing minimal with body language asking “what should I do” ?

In the last three to four games he has been playing as if he wants to be part of this team by producing big numbers and coming to the court with some energy letting Bulls fans know he still knows how to play basketball. For a week, I thought he forgot.

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The main reason for the trade to Philadelphia would be to acquire Melo, and I’m still an advocate for this because he is better than Deng and Iguodala put together.

Other than getting Melo, Deng should probably stay with the Bulls instead of getting Iguodala. The reason I thought he should have been traded in the first place was because he wasn’t doing anything as he only scored 13 points, got two rebounds and turned the ball over four times in the season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder Oct. 27.

Three days later, the Bulls found themselves down by 21-points to the Detroit Pistons and made a dramatic comeback to win by 10 points, 101-91. Deng was on the bench in the fourth quarter of the comeback because he was a miserable 2-for-10 from the field for nine points and two rebounds in 26 minutes.

Without Carlos Boozer, who broke his hand in the preseason, Deng is the Bulls second option after Derrick Rose. In these first couple of games, he disappeared and was the fourth or fifth option behind Rose, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and sometimes Kyle Korver off of the bench.

If that is how he was going to play, then yeah, he needed to be dealt.

Then came the Deng resurgence.

Nov. 1 he dropped 40 points off 14-of-19 shooting from the field against the Portland Trailblazers. Nov. 4 he helped Derrick Rose run fast breaks and added 17 points off of 3-of-4 shooting from the three-point line. The next day Chicago lost to Boston in overtime, but Deng scored 20 points, had six boards and a few assists on well placed passes to Noah in the paint.

Monday, the Bulls defeated the Nuggets behind an overall great team effort which was led by Deng’s 17 points. Thursday, the Bulls stomped the Golden State Warriors 120-90, who were led yet again by Deng who put up his first double-double of the season with 26 points and 11 rebounds and added six assists.

The Bulls have played seven games and Deng has been brilliant in three, solid in two and awful in two. If his game production was a win/loss record, it would look 5-2. Unless you’re Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James or Anthony, who play their A game 75 plus games a year, 5-2 should hold some merit.

Deng has stepped into his scoring role on the team helping the Bulls to a 4-3 record while Iguodala hasn’t been doing much for the 76ers as they look awful with a 2-6 record.

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Iggy has sat out the 76ers last two games with Achilles tendinitis in his right foot, so, the injury factor is already thrown in the mix of why the trade may not work. Even without injury, Deng is playing way better basketball as Iguodala has played with the “I don’t want to be here” mentality every one of his six games. The Bulls have a team full of strong character guys who don’t let little complications affect their basketball, it seems Iguodala is on a different page.

In his last game Nov. 5 against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Iguodala only scored seven points and had four assists. His two efforts before the Cavalier game were 11 and 12 points with little to no effort on defense, helping his team score or grabbing rebounds.

He has had one good game, which was Oct. 29 in a 104-101 losing effort to the Atlanta Hawks when he had a double-double with 27 points and 10 assists, while also grabbing six boards.

With all the stats present, Deng is having a much better season offensively and defensively, which to be a Bull, players have to play both sides of the ball.

Deng’s play has transformed my first opinion of trading him to keeping him and let him remain the longest tenured Bulls player.