Alex Caruso was guarded with his words.
More proof that the Bulls veteran had no problem guarding anything.
But there was the defending All-Defensive first-teamer, discussing the idea of being moved to the starting lineup earlier this week, and doing so in a way that wouldn’t step on the choices being made by the franchise, but also letting everyone involved know that if he’s asked to jump, he’s a “How high?’’ type of guy.
“I guard the best players every night, I do it in a way that’s physically demanding, but it’s one of those things where at a certain point in the season and a certain situation, you realize, ‘Alright, we gotta go now!’ ‘’ Caruso told the Sun-Times. “I don’t know if we’re at that point yet.’’
Guess what? The Bulls are.
Sure, the obvious statement is the NBA regular season is only 10% in the books, and a lot can happen in the next 72 games. That’s whistling through the graveyard from a Bulls perspective.
There’s a good chance this organization doesn’t have 72 more games to make key decisions about the roster. Realistically, it’s about 40 at the most before the Feb. 8 trade deadline comes and goes. Considering teams start laying the groundwork for a deal about a week before that, call it 35 or so to be safe.
Wednesday’s loss to the Suns was yet another reminder of just how much better this team is when Caruso is out there.
Caruso showed that in closing time – both defensively and offensively – and now coach Billy Donovan has to understand it’s time to give him those minutes at the start of games.
Of course the argument the front office and coaching staff have made that they need to protect Caruso from himself because of how physically he plays makes sense, but it’s time to take the bubble wrap off the team’s best defender and roll the dice.
Patrick Williams didn’t work, and veteran Torrey Craig hasn’t solved all the issues. Both are very capable defenders, but they aren’t Caruso. There’s an “it’’ factor Caruso plays with.
One of the best scorers on the planet acknowledged that after the Bulls’ latest loss.
“A hard worker who is going to do all he can for his teammates,’’ the Suns’ Kevin Durant said of Caruso. “That stuff right there (he does) makes up for a lot of mistakes.
“He’s a phenomenal player. I don’t want to even call him a role player; he’s a guy you can plug with any lineup and he will make the right reads and right plays on the defensive and offensive side and the Bulls are lucky to have him.’’
Now it’s time to be smart enough to start him.
The “Big Three’’ of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic are still looking disconnected on most nights. According to one source, the feeling is there’s still some confusion of the pecking order, especially in close games.
That’s what makes Caruso so valuable. He doesn’t care about a scoring pecking order or ego, and when it comes to frequent defensive lapses by the “Big Three’’ he is the ultimate eraser of those mistakes.
“I’m just ready to go to work,’’ Caruso said of his mentality. “This is what I show up to do, what I get paid to do. I’m a hell of a defensive player. I think I’ve taken strides offensively to be a very good player on that end. So for me I’m confident to go out there and play. This is now seven years experience for me. I’m comfortable playing in the NBA. For me, it’s just about going out there and competing and doing what I love to do, playing basketball.’’
So Bulls, let him do that, and let him do that at the start of games.
Minutes be damned.
It’s time.
