Deng concerned about his performance this season
Luol Deng made it through the first practice of Bulls training camp with just minor soreness. He's more concerned about the rest of the season.
Since his breakout year in 2006-07, when he averaged 18.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and shot 51.7 percent from the field, Deng's numbers have dropped two years in a row. He scored just 14.1 points and shot 44.8 percent before missing the final 29 games last season with a stress fracture in his shin.
When he was healthy early in the year, the 6-9 forward seemed to have trouble finding ways to score, which might have been a natural byproduct of a new coaching staff.
"Nobody likes to go out there and not play well," Deng said Saturday at the Berto Center. "I had a very different role; it was very different than what we'd been running.
"But as a basketball player, you have to figure it out. I blame myself for that last year. This year, I kind of know what to expect and am happy to be out there playing."
The Bulls will have a taller lineup this year if Deng starts at small forward with 6-6 John Salmons at shooting guard, as expected. Together, they'll try to make up for the loss of Ben Gordon in free agency.
"We've got good shooters on our team, good one-on-one players," point guard Derrick Rose said. "Everybody needs to shoot the ball a little bit more and I'm going to give them the ball whenever they want it."
Second time around: Coach Vinny Del Negro had a joke ready for his first official post-practice news conference of training camp.
"No question this morning's practice was by far the best practice we've had this year so far," he said.
To start the first of five straight double sessions, Del Negro plans to have the lighter workout in the morning and the full-contact practice in the evening. Already, he thinks this camp is running smoother than last year, his first as a coach at any level.
"This year, there's an advantage because there's a familiarity with what we're doing," he added. "Not having to teach every single, solitary aspect. There's a lot of retention from last year. So it makes things move along a little quicker.
"Obviously, I need to improve. I will improve and that's the bottom line for the team - the familiarity, what's expected, how we're going to do business."
Bull horns: Injured center Jerome James shot around following Saturday's practice, moving at a slow jog. James played in just two games for New York last season because of a torn Achilles tendon, but hopes to be ready to play in a couple months. - Locked out NBA referees Danny Crawford and Marc Davis will stay in shape by working three fall-league high school games at the Bulls-Sox Academy in Lisle on Sunday night.