The Chicago Bulls might be without their best defensive player against the best offensive team in the NBA. Not great!
The latest injury report lists Alex Caruso as “questionable” for Wednesday night’s meeting with the Indiana Pacers. Caruso has been dealing with a sprained ankle. The veteran guard suffered the injury against the Boston Celtics after Al Horford stepped on him. While he was able to return to the game after a brief departure, head coach Billy Donovan opted to bring him off the bench ahead of the team’s meeting with the Wizards on Monday. The Bulls would start the game down 15-0.
Alex Caruso was still able to play for 33 minutes against Washington with 12 points, 5 assists, and 6 rebounds, but the Bulls still lost 107-105. Not to mention, this latest injury report clearly suggests he isn’t back to feeling 100 percent.
We know that Caruso likes to play his way through bumps and bruises, but we’ve also seen the Bulls take the cautious approach with him in the past. Especially with the Play-In Tournament looming, I wouldn’t be shocked if they try to find the elite perimeter defender some added rest over the next couple of weeks. Still, the hope sure is that he can suit up against this electric-scoring Pacers team.
Indiana scores the second-most points per game and operates at the league’s second-highest PACE. They like to get up and down the floor and have numerous options who can find the bottom of the net. Caruso has been key in helping the Bulls win two of three games against the Pacers so far this year. Not only has he held Tyrese Haliburton to 5-12 shooting when guarding him this season, per NBA Stats, but he’s also scored 23 points with 7 assists and 7 rebounds in Chicago’s win on March 13. Alex Caruso went 5-6 from downtown in that game.
The good news for Chicago is that Indiana could be without a couple of their top rotation players tonight, as well. TJ McConnell and Aaron Nesmith are both listed as questionable. The team is also playing without second-year scorer Bennedict Mathurin, who was recently ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury.
More on why tonight’s game could be so important …