Stacy Revere/Getty Images Alex Caruso Defending
The Chicago Bulls have been on fire as they enter the all-star break. The team has won five in a row and has won seven of their last ten games as they beat the Sacramento Kings 125-118 in their final game before the break.
The latest win put the Bulls a half-game in front of the Miami Heat for first place in the Eastern Conference standings. The team has been on fire despite dealing with a laundry list of injuries.
Patrick Williams, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso have been out for extended periods. The Bulls got Derrick Jones Jr. back recently from an extended absence and got a positive update on Zach LaVine’s knee this week.
Getting Healthy
It seems like the Bulls are starting to get healthy after being shorthanded most of the season. Head coach Billy Donovan gave another positive injury update Wednesday, this one on Caruso.
“I know it was a break,’’ Donovan said. “He’s doing well. He’s on the floor doing total conditioning and running. He’s not able to lift. There will be a point where in maybe a week to 10 days he can start dribbling and shooting. He’s not at that level yet, but he’s at the level where he can do a lot of physical training running-wise, so I don’t know the extent of what the whole procedure was other than he broke it, and they went in there and repaired it.’’
Caruso fractured his right wrist on January 21 in a game at the Milwaukee Bucks. He was injured on a flagrant 2 foul by Grayson Allen, who was ejected from the game and suspended for one game.
Caruso was originally expected to be out for six-to-eight weeks with the injury and this most recent update makes it sound like he could be re-evaluated in early March. It’s unlikely that he needs extra motivation to return, but if Caruso can return by March 22 he would get to play the Bucks two more times.
A Defensive Boost
It’s no secret that the Bulls have struggled defensively since the start of 2022. A lot of those struggles coincide with the absence of Caruso, the team’s best defender.
Caruso is having one of the best seasons of his career in his first year in Chicago. His 8.4 points per game are the second-highest of his career, while his 3.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game are both career highs.
Caruso has really made an impact on the Bulls’ defense though. His 1.9 steals per game lead the team and are also a career-high for Caruso. Beyond that, he also ranks third in the NBA among combo guards in steal percentage at 3.1% according to Cleaning the Glass. While he doesn’t block a lot of shots, Caruso also ranks 19th in the league among combo guards in block percentage at 0.8%.
When Caruso is able to return it will be a huge boost for the Bulls. The team appears to be getting healthy at the right time with the playoffs less than two months away on April 16.