Is Luol Deng the Worst Defender in the League?

There are hardly any reasons to dislike Luol Deng.

He and his family fled tyranny in Sudan and moved to England. He's performed ample amounts of charity and seems genuinely interested in helping people.

Never arrogant. Usually a good teammate and coachable.

So why would I mercilessly label him as the biggest detriment to team defense? After watching the 6'9 forward get seared by Rudy Gay and Hakeem Warrick in their loss the Memphis Grizzlies Friday, I'm trying to find places on the court where he can be a capable defender.

He tries, that's certain, but he's simply incapable.

Warrick, not known for his scoring, backed down Deng on one play and rifled the ball at the rim. He was quick enough to get his own offensive rebound and put it back in. There are numerous other highlights we can go over.

Then Deng had his chance at the thinner, maybe less powerful Gay (not that's there anything wrong with that, as Seinfeld would say). Gay has shown why he is one of the most promising young players in the league.

He is a dynamic scorer with much better dribbling ability that I can remember from when he was in college. He's also much more motivated. Like his teammate and fellow scorer O.J. Mayo, the two were never interested in playing ball in college.

It was a formality and we never got to see how good they could be.

Deng was assigned to defend both 3s and occasionally had to defend Mayo. I'm certain that Deng was a better defender two years ago. He looked woefully overmatched by their athleticism and strength.

Sure Gilbert Arenas and Michael Redd have been crowned with the league's worst defender award, but their biggest fault is a lack of effort. Deng tries. But he has to usually defend the most athletic players in the league, a la Lebron James.

Speaking of Deng 2006, the man was brimming with confidence and the league was taking notice. There were cult-like chants of him being an all-star and developing into a Scottie Pippen type with his long arms and mid-range shooting ability.

No matter that Pippen was one of the greatest defenders to ever play the game and a lights-out athlete. Deng was it.

I don't blame General Manager John Paxson for signing him. He still could turn into a solid NBA player, but that doesn't excite the masses when you consider he is the highest paid player in the history of the franchise.

He seems lost at times and his shot is typically flat. I wouldn't mind seeing him being used in pick and roll with Derrick Rose because he is a solid shooter.

But at this point, he has been a defensive liability.

On to the Mayo. He is definitely the scorer as advertised, but I'd be reluctant to anoint him as the rookie of the year. He can score and pass a little, get in the paint and has decent leaping ability--but he's not Dwayne Wade.

He's more like Ray Allen with better ability to get in the lane.

Neither he nor Rose had stellar games, and it's part of a something I've noticed lately. Rose is being trapped now, as teams grow aware of his ability, and he seems more willing to defer to Gooden or Hughes.

He's obviously a point and prefers to pass first, but he's been able to take over games when they needed his scoring. I haven't seen it for about four games now. I imagine he's following the script that Vinny DelNegro drew up but it would be nice to get back to some of the attack mode.

We had a Thabo Sefalosha spotting. The long-armed fellow looked like he belonged, poking away and slapping away balls and missing open threes.

We'd still would like to see more of him and less of Hughes, but the latter is playing so well it would seem unjust.

We'll see the Bulls face off with the much taller New Jersey Nets tonight and probably another small lineup from DelNegro, which means a smaller rotation and little chance of Tyrus Thomas making his three goal-tend, four-missed jumper quota.