“Did I look like I needed surgery? I’m fine right now. I feel great.”
—Chicago Bull Luol Deng after he and Great Britain knocked off China 90-58 to win one game in Olympic pool play and finish 9th in the tournament (better than many expected coming in). Deng has a bad wrist and there are questions about whether or not he needs surgery to repair it before next season. The quote comes via Marc Stein of ESPN.
As for Deng, he shot 3-of-13 for this game and 31 percent from the floor for the entire Olympic tournament... so, maybe he should have that wrist looked at again. To be fair, he was the focus of every opposing team’s defense and he was the best player on the Brittish team. But he was not phenominal, either. The Bulls will already be without Rose for much of this season, isn’t it better for Deng to get right than fight through it for chance at a lower-half seed in the playoffs?