Empty the Bench

It seems that Luol Deng and the Chicago Bulls, who’ve posted an 8-3 record since the all-star break, are feeling pretty good about themselves right about now. Deng, the Bulls’ starting small forward in the midst of a breakout season, had this to say to the Chicago Tribune:

“We have 17 games left,” Deng said Monday after practice. “We really think we can win all of them. The schedule is in our favor right now.”

We admire Deng’s confidence and are fans of his game, but question his motivation in saying this. Why give your opponents added incentive at this point in the season? After many NBA pundits happily jumped on the bandwagon and proclaimed the Bulls a favorite to win the Eastern Conference, these guys have been able to fly under the radar while accruing a respectable 37-28 record. That’s currently good for third place in the Central and four games back of the Detroit Pistons. Deng isn’t doing himself or his team any favors by making this comment. By the way, while the Bulls do have a relatively light schedule the rest of the way, they still have to face the likes of Detroit (twice), Cleveland, Toronto, Washington, New York, and Denver, all of whom could make the playoffs.