Luol Deng, oh how I thought I knew thee.

I chastised the Chicago Bulls for signing you to a six-year, $71 million extension in summer of 2008. I questioned the severity of your “injury” in 2009 and thought it was just another example of you being a human marshmallow. You were the king of long-distance jumpers that could have been threes if you stepped back two feet.

But you have silenced your critics. You’ve settled in this season smoothly, embracing your role as the third scoring option for a resurging Bulls team.

You’ve provided sound defense while becoming more aggressive inside.

Luol, I’m sorry for being so hard on you the past few years. And now, I can center my hatred on Brian Scalabrine and his awful sideline cheerleading.