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Sunday’s sadistic statistics: If you’re looking for a league leader among Chicago Bulls players, you needn’t look any further than forward Luol Deng. He is averaging an NBA-high 39.0 minutes per game. On the bright (?) side is Deng has missed a few games this season. Yes, but because of injury. Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who ruptured an Achilled tendon Friday and will be out 6-9 months, was tied for second with 38.6 minutes per game.
The Chicago Bulls play the Miami Heat on Sunday. Which is why we rationalize running a photo of Heat dancer Alex. Credit: Miami Heat
* Joakim Noah, who will miss the Bulls game Sunday (April 14) at Miami, leads all NBA centers with 37.5 minutes per game.
* Bulls power forward Carlos Boozer is No. 6 in the NBA in double-doubles (points and rebounds). He has 42. Heat star LeBron James has 36. Then again, James leads in triple-doubles (points, rebounds and assists) with four. The only Bull this season with a triple-double is Noah (two).
* Still speaking of double-doubles, Noah has 33. Former Bulls center Omer Asik, who signed with Houston as a free agent after last season, has 32. Asik is No. 3 in the league in rebounds (11.7). Noah is averaging 11.4.
* Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich is tied with New York’s Jason Kidd for fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.17).
* Former Bulls guard Kyle Korver is second in three-point field-goal percentage (.452) for Atlanta. The leading Bull is Nate Robinson at .404.
* For a little perspective on early-season hitting, try these numbers on for size: St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright had three hits Saturday in pitching an 8-0 shutout against Milwaukee in which he struck out 12. White Sox left fielder Dayan Viciedo has four hits — this season (4-for-30. .133 batting average). Cubs reserve infielder Brent Lillibridge has one hit this season (1-for-24, .041). Sox deisgnated hitter Adam Dunn has twice as many hits as Wainwright for the season: (6-of-41, .146), as does Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (6-for-38, .158).
* Speaking of strikeouts, Rizzo has 13, and so does Dunn (he is tied with catcher Tyler Flowers for the team lead in that hitting — or lack thereof — category).
* Speaking of Flowers, the player he replaced in the Sox lineup, A.J. Pierzynski, is batting .342 (13-for-38) for the Texas Rangers with two homers and seven strikeouts.
* Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro has no walks in 49 at-bats. Outfielder David DeJesus has one in 37 at-bats. Sox infielder Jeff Keppinger has none in 43 at-bats and shortstop Alexei Ramirez one in 40 at-bats. Dunn has one in 41 at-bats). Viciedo has no walks in 30 at-bats.
* Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto has a National League-leading 17 walks. Third baseman Luis Valbeuna leads the Cubs with seven and Rizzo has six. Then entire Cubs team has 18. Outfielder Alex Rios leads the Sox with four; first baseman Paul Kornerko has three. The entire Sox team has 15.
As long as we’re going to be featuring figures today, we might as well have some of another variety.
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