Deng sat out of night practice session on Tuesday

[Blue Note]

...If him missing practice is related to soreness or pain, that's a problem, and it makes the org. look really bad IMO for saying publicly that he's healthy, especially when they go out of their way to say how hard he's worked all summer (which, of course, we hear every year yet he doesn't improve IMO). If his missing practice is purely a systematic, pre-planned precautionary measure, it can be a slippery slope that will affect our team on the court...

I get the concern, but don't guys sit out practices more often now even just for resting purposes? To quote a wise man, 'we're talkin' 'bout practice." In September no less.

[Future Coach]

guys-
the problem is a stress fracture is an overuse injury, so they are being cautious so as to not overstress the area of concern.

this in itself is no big deal, but deng is still made of glass.

Yeah this type of injury never really goes away. I've had multiple stress fractures in my right shin. It's starts as shin splints then gets worse from there. He will never be fully healed and it will always be relatively nagging to an extent. Not to mention it often leads to problems in the kneecap that can often require surgery (sometimes micro-fracture). It started in me originally from running sprints and hurdles, in addition to hooping. Doctor told me to stop all three immediately if I wanted to be pain free, one can't stay away from basketball but hurdles were cut immediately.

Deng seems like one of the higher quality humans in the NBA and I like having him on the team for that reason alone, but sf is the easiest position to replace in this league and thus should never really command a high salary with the exception of say Lebron, Durant, Carmelo, and maybe Granger also. Thus, move the contract if possible in any deal where decent talent on decent contracts and maybe draft picks are available.

[DanTown8587]

There is a big fact that no one knows yet and hasn't answered that will clear up EVERYTHING in this thread:

Who made Deng not practice.

If Deng said "I'm sore, let me rest tonight" then its one thing because that means the injury is probably not 100% and he will have to take it easy all year. Its certainly another (and entirely possible) the Bulls could have said "Deng, you aren't going tonight, we want you to rest".

[Ralphb07]

I think people are going overboard and this happens a lot in NFL training camp and probably in the NBA too. When you have a player coming off a injury, you ease him in and be very careful in the beginning. The key is he practiced Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning just missing the night session which is smart IMO

If Deng missed Tuesday and Wednesday practice than we should be worried but that wasn't the case.

[Rerisen]

James Johnson rookie prediction: 13pts 7rebs 3ast 1.5blks 1.5stls on 48% shooting

I wouldn't be too worried about Deng if I believed in JJ this strongly. And I know a lot that are writing off Deng even wanting to write him off, are doing so because of this reason.

The wishful thinking about JJ may be in some cases, even directly inspired by the frustration with Deng. I'd rather just have Luol healthy though, counting on Johnson seems an even risker thing.

This isn't directed at you, I know you are big on JJ regardless, but your sig made me think.

[blumeany]

The only players that usually sit out of practice are:

1. Superstars (Nope)

2. Aged veterans (Nope)

3. Players who are injured (Yep)

And if he's injured, that means he's not "100%" like they've been claiming, which also means we are in for some major disappointment. All I'm saying is that he's not in good shape, and after sitting out so long, that's not a good thing.

[DanTown8587]

The only players that usually sit out of practice are:

1. Superstars (Nope)

2. Aged veterans (Nope)

3. Players who are injured (Yep)

And if he's injured, that means he's not "100%" like they've been claiming, which also means we are in for some major disappointment. All I'm saying is that he's not in good shape, and after sitting out so long, that's not a good thing.

Well, if he is injured, he never recovered and still is playing his way back into shape. That shape would include dropping half of his body fat and adding 10 pounds of muscle. I mean Deng is in the best shape of his career, yet he misses the second practice of a day (that no one can verify wasn't mandated that he miss) and yet Deng isn't in good shape, is a p***y and can't contribute this year?

[Magilla_Gorilla]

The only players that usually sit out of practice are:

1. Superstars (Nope)

2. Aged veterans (Nope)

3. Players who are injured (Yep)

And if he's injured, that means he's not "100%" like they've been claiming, which also means we are in for some major disappointment. All I'm saying is that he's not in good shape, and after sitting out so long, that's not a good thing.

Or it means that he got sore in the first practice. Or he bumped into someone inpractice and tweaked an ankle. Or he was tired. Or he had a lower GI issue that they'd rather not have to talk about. Or one of 10,000 other things that are possible and that don't require the Bulls to lie about.

[ShadowDweller]

The real crime is that when this stress fracture was diagnosed last season, Deng could have opted for surgery which would have FIXED THE PROBLEM. Instead, he acted like a pu**y and chose to heal by resting.

How's that strategy working out for you, Deng? You at 100% yet?

I know - what a pussy - trying to play through the injury and whatnot.

not a pussy, but a dumb ass he just made his own injury worse. I just hope he trying to take it slow on his recovery process now

How did he make his injury worse at the time he tried playing through it he didn't know the severity of the injury. It was also said that rest and allowing the injury to heal was the best way to go and if possible to avoid surgery.

[Jvaughn]

Wow everybody calm down. If everyone is talking about how often Deng is hurt then they should be happy that he's easing into it. This way he can mitigate the risks of getting injured again. Geez there's no pleasing some people. You cant expect him to just come back and go retardedly hard at it again. Thats how u get reinjured. And thats for any player, not just Deng. Note: Gilbert Arenas and Amare Stoudamire. And back_like_crack you can take that Deng for Hughes stuff to the NY board. I'll take Deng for 10 games before i'd take Hughes for 82.

[Ralphb07]

The only players that usually sit out of practice are:

1. Superstars (Nope)

2. Aged veterans (Nope)

3. Players who are injured (Yep)

And if he's injured, that means he's not "100%" like they've been claiming, which also means we are in for some major disappointment. All I'm saying is that he's not in good shape, and after sitting out so long, that's not a good thing.

Players who are COMING back from injury........ I can tell most of you guys don't watch Football because this is very common, and before someone says well this isn't the NFL, the same principles apply

The Giants Osi Umienyora missed the season last year and was 100% by March and it was said he could of played in the playoffs last year. Well 5 months later training camp begins and throughout it the Giants only made him do one a days. It had nothing to do with him being injured still, just playing it safe because he's COMING back from injury. First preseason game Osi was in.

We started two a days on Saturday and had them Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Deng participated in all of them but on Tuesday night and came right back Wednesday morning and practice.

[cocktailswith_2short]

This is not good. You can spin the positives any way you want but the season is right around the corner and this guy is still fighting off injuries. Does Deng have AIDS or something ? This guy just does not heal. When is the last time he played in an NBA game ? What has his body been doing since then?

[Magilla_Gorilla]

This is not good. You can spin the positives any way you want but the season is right around the corner and this guy is still fighting off injuries. Does Deng have AIDS or something ? This guy just does not heal. When is the last time he played in an NBA game ? What has his body been doing since then?

Where does it say he is injured? He sat the evening practice and then practiced the next morning.

[coldfish]

I think that what can be taken from this objectively is that there is/was some concern about Deng inside the organization. Maybe they just want to minimize impact. Maybe as Magilla said, he has gas. IDK what it is, but given Deng's track record, of course every little thing is going to be microanalyzed.

[KF10]

Give the guy a break. He is coming off apparently a serious injury. Training camp/pre-season is important but Deng shouldn't risk of having this injury nagging him all year long again. I would be fine if Deng missed some of practices and pre-season games to be truly healthy. Yes, it is frustrating to see Deng not healthy yet (especially the regular season is coming up less than a month now) But if people want to see a fully optimized Deng, he needs his rest. It would be gravy when Deng comes at 100%.

[DuckIII]

I think that what can be taken from this objectively is that there is/was some concern about Deng inside the organization.

No doubt. Both Deng and The Black told us media day that they'd monitor Deng during two-a-days and rest him as appropriate. We then learned after day one, that his leg was a little sore. After several days of two-a-days, they decided to have him skip one session.

Its all been very much on the surface since last Friday.

[MrSparkle]

I dunno, as upset as I am that Deng hasn't been playing games, let alone playing well... a lot of my blame/confusion has to be directed at the Bulls doctors. I mean, wtf? The multi-millionaire franchise is probably paying their staff millions of bucks, and they let a guy play a fracture for over a month?

It's just weird that you got Grant Hill, Shaq and Stoudemire playing after way more injury-plagued careers, with way more age and wear, and doing quite fine... and our 24 year old seems to never have a rational timetable for his return. I mean, earlier this year, it seemed like the medical evaluation and expected return changed every week.

Makes you wonder.

[Mr. Tibbs]

do i think we vastly overpaid deng? Yes
do i think he's frail? Yes
would I rather have BG? Yes
does this incident have anything to do with any of that? No

The argument that we're paying him 70 million so he has to practice is bogus. Bulls are paying him..may as well take caution and try to get something out of that contract right? Talk about overreaction. Come back when he misses a game then start crying. If anything, I'd be more pissed if they were overdoing it with him. Also the argument that he should have taken surgery is kinda stupid too. How do we know until we see how he performs.

The article didn't even state he had pain or anything..it was simply just a precautionary measure which is obviously very smart. Summer workouts may be tough, but 2 a day training camp is always very very tough for players. This is the most basketball action Lu has really seen in awhile. To put him through the fire so quickly would be pretty foolish considering the injury.

[madvillian]

Luol Deng, you are the weakest link. Seriously, how is this mofo STILL INJURED! I have gone from being one of the biggest Deng fans here to being willing to trade him for an expiring.

His body is less dependable than Phil Mickelson's putter.

[Tommy Udo 6]

does anyone really believe Deng actually is 100%???

He may never be 100% ever again.....