Del Negro praises Luol Deng's three 'D'
Small forward might be the most challenging defensive position in the NBA. Night in and night out, you face a talented, versatile player capable of putting up big numbers.
For an example of just how potent, look at the trio of small forwards the Bulls' Luol Deng will match up against in a three-game stretch that concludes with tonight's game against the Denver Nuggets at the United Center:
(Tom Cruze/Sun-Times)
LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Gerald Wallace of the Charlotte Bobcats (who leads the league in rebounding) and Carmelo Anthony of the Nuggets.
''I thought [Deng] has done a good job on a lot of guys,'' Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. ''There are a lot of tough threes, and Carmelo's coming up. It's one game at a time, but we need Luol at both ends using his versatility, but especially his length and versatility defensively."
Anthony is off to a fast start and is leading the league in scoring with an average of 31.4 points. Like he did last week against James, Deng won't enter the game looking to shut down Anthony. He just wants to make him work for everything he gets.
''Melo can come out [tonight] and shoot the ball well,'' Deng said. ''My job is to make it difficult on him and try to do whatever I can to help us get the win.''
Tyrus Thomas was at the Berto Center on Monday, two days after having surgery to repair the fractured radius of his left forearm. He watched practice from the sideline but left the building without speaking to the media.
''He's down, he's disappointed,'' Del Negro said. ''He's got his arm in a sling, and he goes to the specialist [today]. Put yourself in that situation; you're gonna be down. He worked hard all summer to get in shape.''
After Thomas' visit with the specialist today, the Bulls might have a better idea of how long the 6-9 forward will be sidelined. The initial estimate was four to six weeks, which translates into anywhere from 13 to 20 games.
''Let's see where he is in three or four weeks and the doctors will tell us where he's at, and we'll go from there,'' Del Negro said.
The Bulls are off to a 4-2 start despite making only 26 percent of their three-point shots. Last season, they shot 38.1 percent behind the arc.
With the loss of Ben Gordon -- who shot 41 percent and made 173 of the team's 493 threes -- the Bulls weren't expected to be as potent from long range, but they should be better than this.
''You gotta make shots; you gotta spread the defense,'' Del Negro said. ''We're starting to hit a higher percentage of them. We just have to shoot when they're open and get to a point where you're comfortable shooting the ball.''
John Salmons and Kirk Hinrich are the team's top three-point shooters, but both have gotten off to slow starts from behind the arc. Salmons is 7-for-30 (23.3 percent), and Hinrich is 5-for-20 (25 percent).