Luol Deng: Stock Up (+)
The man brought in to replace ‘The King’ has been every bit what the Heat expected out of the veteran when he was signed in July.
Luol Deng struggled through an Achilles’ injury last season. It was a large reason why he posted some of the worst averages of his 10-year NBA career after being traded to the Cavaliers, shooting just 42 percent from the field while scoring just 14 points a game.
The small forward looks 100 percent healthy and motivated through the first three games of his Heat career. In the Heat’s second preseason game versus the Magic, Deng led all players with 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting. He went to the free-throw line seven times and grabbed six boards.
Spoelstra had the following to say in regards to Luol’s play following the game:
“He’s that type of player. He’s an experienced player, played in good programs before this. There’s a reason why we recruited him so hard. We like his skill set, he fits our defensive mindset but also his offensive ability is underrated,”
With Deng and Ennis playing extremely well at the three spot in the post-LBJ era, Spoelstra has to be happy with what he has seen so far.
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