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Come Fan with UsTuesday, August 4, 2026

Bulls’ Luol Deng struggling to do anything physical

Bulls forward Luol Deng is trying to get back on the floor following complications from a spinal tap, but his body is not reacting well to physical activity.

Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng is still struggling following complications from a spinal tap done before Game 6 of the Bulls' first-round series against the Brooklyn Nets.

Deng attempted to practice twice over the weekend, but he had to cut it short both times. The Bulls’ All-Star forward told K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune that his body is not reacting well to any sort of physical activity:

“I did some individual work (Saturday) and I started throwing up a little bit. I couldn’t finish the workout,” Deng said. “I tried to practice (Sunday) and the same thing. I just warmed up and couldn’t get through practice. My body, my system is not reacting well to anything I’m doing right now.”

Deng came down with an illness prior to Game 6 against the Nets and he had a spinal tap done to test for viral meningitis. The spinal tap came back negative, but complications resulted in leaking spinal fluid and required a “blood patch” to fix things up. Deng has lost 15 pounds since then and has been dealing with bad headaches, among other issues.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau continues to call Deng "day-to-day," but it's looking unlikely that the All-Star will be able to play in the series against the Miami Heat. However, Deng has talked to Thibodeau about possibly suiting up and playing a couple of minutes just to take some pressure off the extremely short-handed Bulls, who are also missing Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich.

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