With Game 3 against the Miami Heat set to take place in Chicago, Bulls forward Luol Deng spoke Thursday about his struggle to recover from the side effects of a spinal tap, expressing doubt about if and when he'll return to action.
According to the Chicago Tribune, when asked when he might play again, Deng first coughed and then responded saying, "I don't know. I tried to shoot a little bit and I struggled. I couldn't do it. We'll see."
Deng added that he felt "very weak" when he left the hospital for the first day saying, "I haven't really left my bed much or done much."
As for the cause of the medical complications, Deng said, "I think that's another story. Just I guess side effect from the spinal tap. It all started with I wasn't feeling well. I guess I had the flu. But my symptoms were really bad when I went to the hospital. They wanted to make sure I didn't have meningitis, which I'm thankful for they wanted to make sure.
"I did the spinal tap and after that, I just didn't respond well. I started having severe headaches, was struggling to walk. I started feeling really weak. I started throwing up, constant diarrhea. I couldn't control my body really. Because of that, I lost a lot of weight. And still just trying to get back, just trying to get right. I still don't feel right."
With Deng likely out, reports this week suggest that former MVP Derrick Rose is thinking of making a comeback for Friday's Game 3.
According to Hoopsworld.com, suiting up doesn't necessarily guarantee that Rose will actually play, but being in uniform on the bench rather than a suit will certainly electrify the crowd and give his teammates added momentum. Though the outcome would be interesting, nothing has yet been officially confirmed at this point.
Rose has received some criticism for not fighting through his injury like some of his teammates have done, with former Bull and TNT analyst Steve Kerr saying last week that Rose owed it to his team to play if he is healthy.
On Monday Rose addressed Kerr's comments with the following: "Everybody has their own opinion. The key words that he said is, 'if I'm ready.' Right now, I'm not ready so I'm just trying to take my time and just really, really be smart."
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