NBA Scores And More: Luol Deng Scores 40 Points Without You Noticing

Once upon a time, Luol Deng was simply one of those players that coaches loved. He didn’t do anything spectacular, but he scored without killing the offensive flow, defended his position and avoided turnovers. In short, he usually won his matchup, unless he was up against LeBron James.

Today, Deng is still that same player. We just don’t really think of him that way, because he now has a $72 million contract and always seems to get hurt. It’s unfortunate, because circumstances Deng cannot really control has made him seem like far less of an asset than he actually is. His performance against the Portland Trail Blazers should serve as a reminder that Deng is still pretty good.

Deng had 40 points in the game, tallying that total on just 19 shots. He hit open jump shots, slashed for other open shots, got out in transition for easy layups and got inside enough to shoot 11 free throws. Nothing he did was outside of the flow of the offense. He just ran Portland ragged off the ball, confounding many different Portland defenders. The Blazers opened with Brandon Roy and Andre Miller on him, so they could put Nicolas Batum on Derrick Rose, and that didn’t work. They switched Batum onto him quickly, and that didn’t work. Finally, they put Wesley Matthews on him off the bench, and that really didn’t work. Portland tried everything, and Deng found a way.

But here’s the most impressive thing about Deng’s performance to me: he did more than score a bunch of points. Somehow, he still did his thing on the defensive end. In the late-third and early-fourth quarter, Deng was switched onto Brandon Roy, and he completely held Roy in check. Roy was trying to take over the game, and Deng wouldn’t let him. Deng laid off Roy a bit, using his length, and was able to stay in front of him and challenge Roy’s jump shot. He didn’t need help; he just got it done. Doing that and scoring 40 points? That deserves major props.

Portland honestly seemed tired from playing an afternoon game in New York the day before. They were a step slow covering the Bulls’ off-ball movement, and a lot of their jump shots were short, which indicates tired legs. They were 0-14 on three-point shots, which is very uncharacteristic. Batum played only 18 minutes, which makes you wonder considering how Matthews was being abused by Deng. Brandon Roy shot just 4-12, and other than LaMarcus Aldridge (33 points), nobody really showed up.

I do think the Blazers relied on Roy too much, though. Chicago’s defense was on point whenever Roy had the ball, displaying the overloaded zone-ish scheme that was so successful for coach Tom Thibodeau in Boston. Portland had more success when they posted up Aldridge or Miller. This is a slow-paced team that doesn’t always get a lot of off-ball movement in their offense, so it’s not a huge surprise that they were susceptible to Chicago’s defense. However, they should have done more to get the ball into Miller’s hands rather than Roy’s.

Derrick Rose was fine with 16 points and 13 assists, but we should be past the point where 13 assists is a career-high for him.

Play of the game: Sometimes, I wish Rose would just barrel into defenders and draw fouls. But then, we wouldn’t see as much of this.

From the blogs: Blazers Edge writes that the defensive effort was simply unacceptable if the Blazers wanted to win.

The Kings are now 3-1, but they have to realize they cannot get away with winning like this for much longer. This is the third straight time they fell behind by double digits early in the game. Their opponents? New Jersey, Cleveland and Toronto. They managed to rally in the final two games, and nearly did the same in the first one, but this is not a sustainable model for winning. They’re young, but they need to be more consistent. Hopefully, they listen to coach Paul Westphal when he stresses this to them (and he will).

Reggie Evans is attacking the ball off the glass like a defensive back trying to recover a fumble. Nineteen rebounds in 32 minutes is pretty insane.

Play of the night: I didn’t realize Linas Kleiza could drive by people like this. The Raptors announcers do need to chill out a little though.

From the blogs: Sactown Royalty writes that the Kings are not a playoff-caliber team yet, but the signs are starting to show.

I wasn’t paying close attention to this one because I was writing, but the story remains the same for the Clippers. Until they get better coaching, they won’t go anywhere. Their offensive sets are too basic, and there are too many breakdowns in key spots that lead to easy buckets for the opposition. An offense with Blake Griffin and Eric Gordon should be significantly more efficient than the Clippers’ offense is.

Play of the game: Eric Gordon welcomes James Anderson to the NBA. Goodness.

From the blogs: Clips Nation wonders if even sticking with the Spurs counts as a moral victory for the Clippers, while Pounding the Rock writes that the Spurs bench owned the game.