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Bulls Fri Feb 10 2012
As The Bulls Turn: Welcome to the Party, Luol
"In America, first you make the currency, than you get the All-Star nod , then you get the power."
Congrats to #9! There's been a good deal of rumination and debate about Luol "truly earning" this all-star berth (he's been injured, his WS/48 isn't "all that" compared with Kevin Garnett, Rondo, Josh Smith --personal fave of this fella, Greg Monroe, [insert your favorite player who "totally got jobbed"]) and to that I say, "Relax. It's an all-star game. Luol is a good dude and, again, it's an all-star game."
People, even the coaches who pick the All-Star reserves, have biases. They're not calculating mechano-men, nor should they be. So Deng, who has been a stalwart of the Bulls defensive rotations (as always, making Carlos Boozer look less-bad on that end), plus a heralded and go-to option on offense, shouldn't go unnoticed, nor unrewarded.
For the players themselves making the All-Star Game is a hit/miss notion; no less a sage than Rasheed Wallace quipped, after being an injury replacement in '08, about "wanting the four days off for a vacation." The always existentially aware Dirk Nowitzki opined earlier this week about not even deserving a spot --in spite of himself, Dirkster got the nod, but for Luol? As the first Brit to make the roster? "Check ya tweets, toddlers":
Words can't describe how happy I am to make my first all star. Thanks to all my supporters especially the coaches who voted for me. #Honored
— Luol Deng (@LuolDeng9) February 10, 2012
"Bully for you, good-sir Deng."
