-
Chicago's Derrick Rose - Source: Reuters -
Related
The Chicago Bulls arrived jet-lagged and injury-hit for their pre-season game against the Utah Jazz in London on Tuesday and for forward Luol Deng it will be a particularly special occasion.
The match at London's O2 Arena will be the first time the Britain basketball team captain has played in his home country in a Bulls uniform.
"I'm excited. Every year you feel like it's going to be a special year, especially this year following my injury," British-born Deng said.
"I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait to come out tomorrow after my name's called and play the game."
A stress fracture in his right shin forced Deng to miss the the end of last season and this year's European basketball championship.
"It was really tough not playing (for Britain). I didn't want to watch a single game," he said.
Derrick Rose, last year's NBA rookie of the year and one of Chicago's top scorers, is carrying a right ankle and Achilles tendon injury which has kept him out of practice the past two days.
"It's getting better but I'm still deciding if I will play tomorrow. I'll leave up to the trainers and we'll have to see in the morning. I still can't run," said Rose, adding that he would probably not accompany the team on trips to London sights including Big Ben and Buckingham Palace.
The Utah Jazz also suffered injury problems last season which nearly caused them to miss the playoffs.
"If we can stay healthy this year, we're going to be a dangerous team," said Utah's Turkish-born center Mehmet Okur.
The Bulls will play Real Madrid on Friday on the NBA's Europe Live 2009 tour which has been trimmed to two games, down from four last year and seven in 2007.
