The dog has been put in a cage for the next week.
Make that the “dawg.’’
At least that’s what DeMar DeRozan called Bulls teammate Alex Caruso last week, referring to the ferocious mentality he has played defense with this season.
But as Saturday’s win over Brooklyn showed, the “dawg’’ needs some rest time.
Caruso had been trying to play through a lower right hamstring injury that had crept into the calf area, but lasted just eight minutes against the Nets before it sidelined the combo guard for the night.
According to coach Billy Donovan, Caruso had been going through treatment and did get an MRI, and now the plan was to shut him down for a week and then re-evaluate where he’s at.
“It’s not significant,’’ Donovan said. “I think with something like that the bigger concern is if we bring him back too early and now it goes from something that was minor to something more significant, and now he’s gonna be missing more time. So I think the medical feels pretty confident that, ‘OK after a week here, let’s reevaluate where he’s at and make some decisions going forward.’
“That’s not to sit there and say he’ll be back in a week. He could be. But he’ll be evaluated. And we’ll see how he responds to treatment, and like I said he’ll be able to do things and they’ll push him a little bit, and if he starts to feel it they’ll pull back.’’
The timing for Caruso being shutdown couldn’t be worse, considering the Bulls were already short-handed thanks to Coby White, Javonte Green and DeMar DeRozan in the health and safety protocols. If Caruso does miss a full week, that means he will have obviously missed the game with the Nuggets, then the road trip to Cleveland and Miami.
The Bulls host Detroit next Tuesday, and will have more clarity on Caruso by then.
“He warmed up [before the Nets game] but I just don’t think he felt right and I don’t think it got to a place where all of a sudden he re-aggravated or did something more to it,’’ Donovan said. “I think he’s smart enough as a player and the medical staff to, like, ‘OK he’s not moving great, he’s not feeling great, we don’t need to push this right now and create something that’s gonna be a little bit longer for the team.’
“I think how it gets addressed and handled now is the most important thing.’’
Caruso was leading the team in steals and deflections, as well as playing 28.6 minutes per game, averaging 8.5 points and 4.1 assists.
Staying the course
Donovan said over the weekend that he expected the NBA to ramp up testing league-wide in the midst of the holiday season, but was asked if he could see another pause or shutdown coming.
“I have not heard anything along those lines,’’ Donovan said. “I think everybody, and I’ve said this before about our guys, have done a good job following and doing what we’re asked to be done from the league and from the medical side. And, you know, it’s just this time of year there certainly has been a spike in this, but I have not heard anything as it relates to them going into a situation of shutting down the league for a period of time.’’
The Bulls have had four players in the health and safety protocols since the regular season started.
