Luol Deng Will Miss Game 1 After Being Re-Hospitalized
By Josh Hill
The Chicago Bulls will be battling for their playoff lives against the defending champion Miami Heat when they start their Eastern Conference semifinal showdown in South Beach on Monday. However, while the headline remains that Derrick Rose isn’t playing in the series, Chicago will also be without All-Star forward Luol Deng who after being re-hospitalized will miss at least the first game of the series.
Deng had to undergo a spinal tap last week and the Chicago Tribune reported that Deng also needed “a ‘blood patch’ to stop spinal fluid leakage that was causing Deng intense migraine headaches and disorientation”, which is the main reason he’s still out.
"The procedure involved injecting Deng’s own blood into the damaged area so that the spinal tap puncture could heal naturally, one source said. But Deng will not travel until Monday at the earliest as he continues his recovery."
Deng was re-hospitalized, but his migraines and headaches are subsiding but his back is still reportedly sore and that’s something he’s going to try and clear up while he rests up.
Not having Deng in the lineup will no doubt hurt the Bulls, as they’re in a position right now where they need everyone they can get to play for them. With Rose out and Joakim Noah still not quite at 100 percent, and various ailments to Taj Gibson, Rip Hamilton and now Luol Deng, Chicago has been leaning on surprising play from Nate Robinson, Jimmy Butler and others from the bench.
We saw the Bulls beat the Heat both this season and last season without Derrick Rose in the lineup and thanks to big play from smaller players and it’s looking like that will be the strategy again this series. The only question is can the Bulls stay taped together long enough to make this whole series competitive or will it be an embarrassingly short trip to the Conference Semifinals for the banged up Bulls?