Bulls forward Luol Deng cleared a big hurdle when he remained healthy through the preseason.

He missed six months with a stress fracture of the lower right leg last season.

"My rhythm is coming back," Deng told the Chicago Sun-Times. "It's not fully there. I was out for a long time, and I couldn't do much with the ball all summer and I wasn't on my feet.

"It's starting to feel better, though. From the first preseason game to now, I think my cutting, running the floor, playing defense, I just feel a lot better, a lot more comfortable doing it."

Deng averaged 10.8 points on 38.3 percent shooting in the preseason.

"His conditioning is better, and as he becomes more comfortable with everything, he'll continue to improve in a lot of areas," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "His effort's been good, he hasn't missed a practice, he's played hard and I think Luol will be fine."