With 30 points and 11 rebounds, Luol Deng enjoyed the night of his young career Tuesday night in Dallas.
His reward? Guarding Tracy McGrady Wednesday night in Houston.
The NBA schedule doesn’t stop, and Game 47 is on tap Saturday in Minneapolis.
That’s far more action than a college season, and the inconsistencies are starting to show for Deng, Ben Gordon, Andres Nocioni, Chris Duhon and Kirk Hinrich, who, lest we forget, is a second-year player.
One game, there is dominance. The next, that disappears.
Deng played just 20 minutes against Houston in a nondescript, foul-marred performance. In a departure for the defiant rookie, he admitted to fatigue afterward.
“We’d love to deny it, but it’s true,” Deng said. “Our energy wins games for us, and it just wasn’t there.”
By now, it’s clear the Bulls have to have more energy than their opponents to win. After two off days in Miami–one a complete off day, one with a short practice–the Bulls shocked Dallas.
Against Houston, the Bulls shot 36.8 percent, allowed 105 points and looked slightly out of sync.
Saturday marks the Bulls’ fifth straight road game in a stretch of 13 out of 18 away from the United Center. There are more home games in March, but there are also five sets of back-to-back games.
“We have a lot of guys who haven’t been through this,” coach Scott Skiles said.
One thing the Bulls have managed to avoid for the most part is having all rookies struggle in the same game.
Skiles gave the Bulls Thursday off, their second day away from the practice court in five. “We’re trying to balance rest and practice and not be too hard on them,” Skiles said.
Deng, Duhon, Gordon and Nocioni rank fourth, fifth, ninth and 10th, respectively, among rookies in minutes per game. None are averaging more than 30 minutes as Skiles attempts to keep them energetic for a possible playoff push.
