1. Boston Celtics - 97.09110809
2. Los Angeles Lakers - 96.23695606
3. Cleveland Cavaliers - 95.96925995
4. Dallas Mavericks - 93.29128104
5. Orlando Magic - 92.74592282
6. Atlanta Hawks - 90.6801248
7. San Antonio Spurs - 89.85378126
8. Portland Trail Blazers - 89.11698158
9. Phoenix Suns - 88.8448073
10. Denver Nuggets - 88.78509466
11. Oklahoma City Thunder - 88.19723688
12. Miami Heat - 86.64786563
13. Houston Rockets - 86.54235316
14. Utah Jazz - 85.72642726
15. Memphis Grizzlies - 82.68375435
16. Toronto Raptors - 82.65221533
17. New Orleans Hornets - 81.58930876
18. Los Angeles Clippers - 81.48618476
19. Milwaukee Bucks - 80.87913298
20. New York Knicks - 80.733524
21. Charlotte Bobcats - 79.74848855
22. Sacramento Kings - 78.14215859
23. Chicago Bulls - 77.67040777
24. Washington Wizards - 77.62351403
25. Philadelphia 76ers - 76.79352679
26. Golden State Warriors - 74.71841182
27. Detroit Pistons - 74.05881037
28. Indiana Pacers - 73.71263082
29. Minnesota Timberwolves - 70.07581229
30. New Jersey Nets - 64.57433245

Derrick Rose has been named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week according to NBA.com.

The Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant today were named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Dec. 28, through Jan. 3.

Rose led the Bulls in scoring in each game, averaging 26.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.7 assists, as Chicago went 3-0. On Jan. 2, Rose became the first Bulls player to post a 30-point, five-rebound, five-assist game since 2008 (Kirk Hinrich) when he amassed 30 points, six rebounds and seven assists in a 101-93 win over Orlando.

Here is a recap of each of Rose’s performances this past week:

Dec. 29 vs. Indiana: Posted 28 points, five rebounds, six assists and one block in a 104-95 win over the Pacers.

Dec. 31 @ Detroit: Scored 22 points to go along with four rebounds, four assists and two blocks in a 98-87 win over the Pistons.

Jan. 2 vs. Orlando: Tallied 30 points, six rebounds and seven assists in a 101-93 win over the Magic.

As I recollect, Ben Gordon is the only other post-dynasty era Bull to receive this award. Because of this, Rose is joining some rare company, even if that’s because of the franchise’s horribleness, rather than this being any type of crowning achievement.

But still, Rose should be proud of earning this honor. His play in the last week was his best string of games in his career, and he is really turning the corner into a star type of player that can lead his team to victory. Hopefully he keeps it up.

The Bulls have played over a quarter of their games for the 2009-2010 season and currently stand at 8-14. Here is my grades for each individual player on the Bulls.

Luol Deng - A-

Luol Deng has been able to get his game back on track, scoring 17.5 points on 51.9 TS% and grabbing 7.8 rebounds per a game. Deng is only scoring the ball at a mediocre efficiency this year, but I think this is largely a result of Deng being asked to be option 1B (Derrick Rose is 1A) in the offense, rather than as the 3rd or 4th scorer, a role which he would fit very nicely. Where Deng has really excelled so far this year is on the defensive end of the court. Luol Deng has been the one Bull that can be depended on this year to give a good defensive effort on his man, while also rebounding the ball well. With Deng’s performance so far this season, and his ability to stay completely healthy, the Bulls should be able to move him with little difficulty.

Joakim Noah - B

If Joakim Noah keeps his averages of 10.2 points and 11.8 rebounds per a game to the end of the season, he will be the first Bull since Elton Brand to average a double double. That is a big if, however, as after a hot offensive start, Noah’s offensive production has tanked. Noah has been one of the best rebounders in the league, which is valuable to a team, but he has struggled defensively at times when matched up against bigger centers. Overall, Noah has been a net positive for the team.

Taj Gibson - C+

Taj has done a good job offensively for the Bulls, consistently knocking down the midrange jumper. Unfortunately, Gibson possesses little ability to make a free throw or defend the ball, and the latter really hurts the Bulls when they have Gibson out on the court. Still Gibson has surpassed all expectations.

Brad Miller - D

Age has caught up with Brad Miller too fast, and this even slower version of Brad Miller isn’t all that effective. Still, Brad Miller can make nice passes to setup his teammates, and provides better interior defense than anyone not named Joakim Noah on the team.

Derrick Rose - D-

Rose is the definition of raw talent right now. Every time it seems like he is going to break out of his bad play, he follows up his good play with some terrible games. While Rose has shown more ability to create for his teammates this year than last, it is still not something he excels at doing like someone like the elite point guards in the league, and the overwhelming majority of his assists are just passing to someone who hoists up a jumpshot. The assists he are getting are no different than the one’s Kirk Hinrich would get a few years ago, when he would just pass the ball to Deng and Gordon, who would hit a jumpshot. Anyone can make that pass. While Rose has shown some improvement on the defensive end, he is still a bad defender.

The Bulls didn’t make life easy for Derrick when they got rid of Ben Gordon, but that doesn’t excuse Derrick Rose for playing as poorly as he has. It’s unacceptable for a team to have their leading shot taker scoring at 48.7 TS%. That is a recipe for a bad offense. While the driving lanes are more clogged than last year, Rose is still getting to the basket. Rose would be having a much easier time on the basketball court if he had put in the work this summer to make his three point shot respectable. Given that he is shooting 12.5% from three, and looks scared to even attempt a three point shot, I am going to guess that he didn’t put in the necessary work this summer, and because of this, rendered himself as a bad offensive player.

Don’t believe Derrick Rose is a bad offensive player? He has -0.1 offensive win shares on the season.

Kirk Hinrich - F

While Kirk Hinrich has been solid defensively, he has been one of the worst offensive players in the NBA. He is scoring at 40.6 TS% and has -0.8 offensive win shares on the season. There is no level of defense that Kirk Hinrich can play that warrants him seeing an NBA court with offense this well.

John Salmons - F

John Salmons has been ineffective scoring the basketball in the early going of the season. While he is averaging 13.8 points per a game, he is doing it on an unacceptable 48.0 TS%. A basketball team can simply not be competitive when one of it’s main offensive players, in Salmons, is performing this poorly on the offensive end. Unfortunately, Salmons brings little on the other side of the court, as he is one of the worst defenders at the shooting guard position in the entire league.

Jannero Pargo - F

And there’s the sweep. All three guys who Jerry Reinsdorf said Ben Gordon would struggle to get playing time over get failing grades for the first quarter of the season. When you have a reputation of being a player who can’t play defense, but is valuable to a team because of your ability to score, you better be able to score. Pargo, however, is scoring at 45.1 TS% and has -0.3 offensive win shares on the season.

Aaron Gray - F

While Aaron Gray has been injured most of the season, he has used his five games back to show fans his best Dalibor Bagaric impression.

James Johnson - F

Johnson, like Rose, is an example of raw talent. He has shown some flashes on both ends of the court, but has struggled to put together a good performance on both sides of the court. On most nights, he is bad on both sides of the court.

Lindsey Hunter - F-

I’m not sure if you can actually give someone an F-, but I am going to try here. I’m not a fan of John Hollinger’s PER statistic, but when you have a -2.0 PER, that has to be bad, right?

Tyrus Thomas - Incomplete

Tyrus Thomas only got to play in four games before breaking his arm in a freak weightlifting accident. Thomas struggled offensively, but it is too small of a sample size to really judge him on. In his four games this season, Thomas played really good defense. Thomas probably deserves a B grade for the small set of games he played this year.

Closing Comments

The grades may seem a little harsh, but they are a reflection of the reality of the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have the 24th best record in the league, are ranked 27th in the Dabullz.com Power Rankings, are ranked 28th in SRS, 28th in Pythagorean W-L, and are ranked 29th in John Hollinger’s power rankings. When you are receiving marks that low as a team, there are going to be a lot of players failing out.

1. Boston Celtics - 98.61599297
2. Los Angeles Lakers - 94.32885139
3. Orlando Magic - 92.64145695
4. Atlanta Hawks - 92.12477223
5. Dallas Mavericks - 91.43577365
6. Denver Nuggets - 90.189023
7. Cleveland Cavaliers - 90.027552
8. Phoenix Suns - 87.2460405
9. Houston Rockets - 86.96593225
10. Oklahoma City Thunder - 86.45765016
11. Portland Trail Blazers - 85.05060155
12. Utah Jazz- 84.12495838
13. Miami Heat - 83.56653612
14. San Antonio Spurs - 81.57006081
15. Milwaukee Bucks - 79.66665728
16. Detroit Pistons - 79.1607668
17. Los Angeles Clippers - 78.59712519
18. Sacramento Kings - 76.8116151
19. New Orleans Hornets - 76.50493999
20. Indiana Pacers - 76.35917675
21. New York Knicks - 76.22681851
22. Memphis Grizzlies - 75.92817743
23. Toronto Raptors - 75.74750039
24. Charlotte Bobcats - 75.70946478
25. Washington Wizards - 75.05702002
26. Golden State Warriors - 73.20632655
27. Chicago Bulls - 72.65158055
28. Philadelphia 76ers - 70.04531128
29. Minnesota Timberwolves - 65.10387236
30. New Jersey Nets - 64.43645582

1. Boston Celtics - 95.5581864
2. Los Angeles Lakers - 95.11305919
3. Phoenix Suns - 94.45843986
4. Orlando Magic - 94.22665253
5. Dallas Mavericks - 91.27628428
6. Cleveland Cavaliers - 90.32139609
7. Denver Nuggets - 89.397316
8. Atlanta Hawks - 89.05334704
9. Portland Trail Blazers - 87.88422835
10. Miami Heat - 84.59677079
11. Oklahoma City Thunder - 84.20420055
12. Houston Rockets - 83.29195114
13. Utah Jazz - 83.05030816
14. San Antonio Spurs - 82.24803077
15. Milwaukee Bucks - 0.73714803
16. Indiana Pacers - 78.18636228
17. Los Angeles Clippers - 78.13554784
18. Sacramento Kings - 77.48367953
19. Charlotte Bobcats - 76.43672343
20. Chicago Bulls - 74.65654209
21. Detroit Pistons - 73.95819815
22. Toronto Raptors - 73.5053964
23. New Orleans Hornets - 73.47975442
24. Washington Wizards - 73.12549831
25. Golden State Warriors - 72.89342885
26. Memphis Grizzlies - 72.81708527
27. Philadelphia 76ers - 71.59112682
28. New York Knicks - 68.48832999
29. Minnesota Timberwolves - 63.6484407
30. New Jersey Nets - 60.28057678

1. Boston Celtics - 96.44263364
2. Miami Heat - 92.87507171
3. Los Angeles Lakers - 91.01685789
4. Orlando Magic - 89.28692308
5. Phoenix Suns - 88.24925684
6. Dallas Mavericks - 85.39355001
7. Denver Nuggets - 84.26980443
8. Houston Rockets - 83.84726579
9. Atlanta Hawks - 83.35683181
10. Cleveland Cavaliers - 82.53596573
11. Milwaukee Bucks - 80.66716707
12. Chicago Bulls - 78.40622276
13. Portland Trail Blazers - 78.25158316
14. Philadelphia 76ers - 78.07901844
15. Oklahoma City Thunder - 75.2412961
16. Indiana Pacers - 74.22695102
17. Los Angeles Clippers - 74.10507543
18. Toronto Raptors - 74.09396908
19. Charlotte Bobcats - 72.26168747
20. Detroit Pistons - 70.25777798
21. Washington Wizards - 69.9214025
22. San Antonio Spurs - 69.77551686
23. Sacramento Kings - 68.61012479
24. Utah Jazz - 67.01886012
25. New Orleans Hornets - 65.57068542
26. Golden State Warriors - 62.72243435
27. Minnesota Timberwolves - 62.33669957
28. New York Knicks - 60.73728069
29. Memphis Grizzlies - 60.14080089
30. New Jersey Nets - 56.76043025

Before Luol Deng went down with his injury last season, Vinny Del Negro hinted that he was going to make some changes to the Bulls’ starting lineups. Many took it to be that Del Negro was going to bench Ben Gordon and start John Salmons at shooting guard, but Del Negro revealed that it was Luol Deng who was going to the bench and not Ben Gordon. Luol Deng never ended up coming off the bench in that game against the Charlotte Bobcats or any game last season as he sat out the rest of the season with the stress fracture injury.

Over the past three years he has been pretty much immune from being benched, and the question must be asked, why? He isn’t a good enough player to warrant not being benched.

So far this preseason, through seven games, Deng is averaging 11.1 PPG on 48.95 TS%. His preseason has been a complete failure on the offensive end. Unfortunately this is just a continuing trend of his last two seasons where he averaged 17.0 PPG on 52.8 TS% in 2007-2008 and 14.1 PPG on 51.1 TS%. Deng has been an abysmal offensive player the last two years.

So what is the solution to the Luol Deng problem? Many will say to get him more involved in the offense. My question is why? Why would you want to get a player who produces such poor offensive results more involved in the offense? He is already jacking up contested shots at a high volume, why add more?

My solution is for the Bulls to salary dump Luol Deng on whatever team willing. I am all for the Bulls spending money. I would have rather them kept Tyson Chandler when they signed Ben Wallace, re-signed Ben Gordon, and went into the luxury tax for Pau Gasol, but Jerry Reinsdorf deserves a break here, because this isn’t salary dumping a player, this is getting rid of one of the worst, if not the worst contract in the entire NBA, for a mediocre at best player.

Luol Deng is unlikely to ever be a good offensive player in his career again. He had one good offensive year during the 2006-2007 season, in which he averaged 18.8 PPG on 56.0 TS%, but hasn’t had much success since then. In the 2006-2007 season, Luol Deng hit the midrange jumpshot at an elite rate. He hasn’t done it since. On the offensive end all Luol Deng is now, is an average midrange jumpshooter who can’t take his man off the dribble. That’s not a player who is going to be a good scorer in the league. Since Luol Deng has a very low upside scoring the ball because of his lack of a three point shot and ability to take his man off the dribble, less offensive possessions should be given to Luol Deng.

The one thing that Luol Deng does have going for him is that he is a very good defender at the small forward spot, but is that enough to warrant a starting spot? Yes, the Spurs started Bruce Bowen, who was only useful on the defensive side of the ball. However, Bruce Bowen was a good three point shooter, so he could stretch the defense for Tony Parker’s penetration and Tim Duncan in the low post. Luol Deng, with his lack of three point shot, compacts the defense in, narrowing Derrick Rose’s driving lanes. Deng is a poor fit next to the Bulls’ star, Derrick Rose, in the starting lineup.

If the Bulls were to bench Deng, they could go in one of two directions. They could start rookie James Johnson, who would give the Bulls a size advantage at the small forward spot. Johnson would be able to post up some of the skinnier small forwards in the league. Unlike Deng, Johnson shows no reluctance to shooting the three point shot, hitting from 30% so far in preseason. Not great, but better than what we’re currently getting at that position.

However, what would give the Bulls their best starting lineup, at least for this year, would be to move John Salmons over to the small forward spot, like last season, and start Kirk Hinrich at shooting guard. Hinrich has been a pretty good three point shooter throughout the course of his career and has shot a blistering 58.8% from three this preseason. With two good three point shooters on the wings, the other team will have to play out, opening up more driving lanes.

It looks as though that Luol Deng will get the start at small forward in the season opener. He has started every game in the preseason so far, despite his poor production. If Luol Deng comes stumbling out of the gate, Del Negro should send him to the bench. If Deng comes stumbling out of the gate, it’s not because he’s in a shooting slump or having a bad November, it’s because Luol Deng isn’t an NBA caliber starting small forward. Enough with the excuses for Deng, either he produces this year, or he goes to the bench and is seen for what he is, a mediocre NBA player.