Bulls manage Luol Deng's minutes

Deng has played actively and aggressively through the Bulls' first two exhibition games, thrilling his adopted hometown fans with 18 points in 25 minutes during Tuesday's preseason victory over the Jazz in London.

Some of those fans chanted Deng's name as he sat the entire fourth quarter, hoping he'd return.

But even though the stress fracture that Deng recovered from hasn't caused anything more than minor irritation, it remains an influence on Deng's preseason.

"It was exciting to be home and I wanted to play a lot of minutes," Deng said. "But coach (Vinny Del Negro) and I talked, and it's right to keep managing my minutes. Overall, I feel happy with where I am. But we want to stick with the plan."

That plan, according to Del Negro, calls for Deng's minutes to increase as the preseason progresses. That likely won't happen in Saturday's game against the Bucks in Green Bay, where Deng's minutes should hover in the 24-28 range.

But it will happen.

"We need Luol to have a productive year for us," Del Negro said. "And I think he's played very well the first two games. He's been aggressive from the get-go. He's been sharp and crisp with his decision-making. He's shot it well, moved it well, passed well.

"But the season is the most important thing. We want to monitor his minutes and gear him up as we move toward the regular season."