Taking a look at Gordon and Deng

A few quick notes from yesterday's Bulls win, though I didn't even really watch it cause I was working.


1) Ben Gordon is just playing out of his mind right now. My distaste for him is well documented, but I don't think I've ever seen BG7 more effective than this year. That four point play yesterday was the most ridiculously clutch thing I've seen in Chicago sports since....I don't even know. But the point is, that play was completely absurd yet so necessary. It single-handidly gave the Bulls a win they needed to have (now a game ahead of the 6ers for the eight seed in the East, eat a bowl of it, Brian!).

Gordon's stats are up virtually across the board so far this year. His scoring is up 2.5 points from last season, he's averaging an assist per game more than a year ago, he's getting to the line a little more often (I like to thing of free throw attempts as the on-base percentage of basketball), and his shooting percentage is up a few points. Gordon's PER currently sits at a juicy 18.1, good for best on the team. I also think his D has been a little better too, though there is only so much he can do when he's giving up four or more inches every night.

What's the reason for this Gordon resurgence? The added incentive of playing for a contract? Rose's ability to set him up for better shots? Could it be because, unlike Skiles, Del Negro isn't an asshole and actually starts one of his best players?

It's probably a combination of all three. More than anything, I'm just happy Ben is on the court more this year. He's averaging 36 minutes a game. Only Rose has played more.

I also stumbled across this photo of Gordon on his myspace. It deserves your attention.



2) I feel like I usually wait off a while before declaring these types of things, but whatever: Luol Deng offically sucks. Just thinking about how much value he had last season is enough to make any wannabe GM's head explode.

It's hard to fault Pax for locking Deng up this offseason, but it's also his job to be able to evaluate the talent on his roster. Even when Deng was going good he was far from a perfect player - he's never been able to create his own shot or shoot threes and he's really not all that athletic. Maybe the reason Pax never dealt Deng is because the right deal just never came up, or maybe it's because the Bulls sold too early on Brand, Artest, and even Tyson Chandler.

I really haven't been able to watch the Bulls as much as I'd like this year, that'll change hopefully now that I'm on xmas break, so I'm not going to try to tell you whats wrong with Deng. I think this fanpost on Blog-a-Bull does a pretty decent job, though I'm not sure if I could be so harsh to one of the truely good dudes in sports. Of course that doesn't change the fact that he sucks, which he does.

Am I wrong to think that Deng isn't going to break out of this?