Yes, I think it’s just about that time. It’s time to talk about how good Luol Deng has been.
The Miami Heat defeated the Toronto Raptors last night by a score of 102-96. While Luol Deng wasn’t an integral part of the win last night, there is no doubt the Heat wouldn’t be where they are without him.
Right now, Luol Deng is averaging 17.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. While that might not be all that impressive to you, look at his percentages and you’ll feel differently. Deng is shooting 53.2% from the field, 53.7% from deep, and 80.8% from the line.
Yea… I know, it’s ridiculous.
Luol Deng, with this production, is on pace to become just the 3rd player in NBA History to have percentages of at least 50/50/80 while shooting at least 50 threes. The other two players were Ray Allen in 2011 with Boston and Jeff Hornacek in the 1996 playoffs.
Deng’s play in the first round was particularly impressive.
In the 1st-round series, Luol Deng became the 1st player in NBA History to have at least 45 rebounds and 20 threes in a 1st-round series. He was dominant in every aspect of the game and helped the Heat come back from down 3-2 against the Hornets.
Right now, Deng is 3rd in the NBA in these playoffs in 3-pointers made with 22, 16th in rebounds with 50, 11th in points with 143, 9th in TS% with 67.8%, and 8th in OBPM with a 7.3 rating.
(TS% and OBPM are out of players with at least 20 FGAs in the playoffs, retrieved from Basketball-Reference)
Now for every NBA player there is some statistic that makes them stand out. I get that. But, what Luol Deng is doing so great is visible from his play. He’s been asked to play so many different positions for the Heat this year. He’s a great rebounder for his size and has done a great job replacing Bosh as the stretch-four.
Luol Deng was a player that Heat fans, early on in this season, wanted to push out of Miami. He was taking up a good portion of the cap and with Whiteside and Wade due new contracts at the end of the season, many thought keeping Deng around would just be too costly. Now, everyone’s mindset has changed. Luol Deng has proved beyond reason that he is well worth the money he is getting and is a vital part of the Heat’s success.
After eleven years of playing in the league, the thought was that Deng wouldn’t be too productive in the playoffs. Obviously, that has completely been proven wrong as Luol Deng has been one of the best players in the NBA in these playoffs.