(670 The Score) Bulls guard Alex Caruso didn’t miss a beat despite missing seven weeks.
In his return from a fractured wrist, Caruso was his usual havoc-wreaking self in Chicago’s 101-91 win against Cleveland on Saturday evening at the United Center. Caruso had 11 points, four assists and four steals in 29-plus minutes of action off the bench.
“He had a major impact, just having another competitor out there, another guy who’s willing to do the little things, another leader,” Bulls guard Ayo Dosunmu said. “All of those things helped. He impacted everybody tonight.
“He makes it easier for a lot of us, especially me. Sometimes when we’re in pick-and-rolls, we’re comfortable enough to call the switch out. Like I said, he’s a veteran. He has won. He has played in those high-level games. When you that, that boosts the morale defensively, it gives energy and helps the team overall.”
The Bulls held the Cavaliers to 41.9% shooting and also forced 14 turnovers. They had 12 steals, helping lead to 19 fastbreak points.
“It felt great,” Caruso said. “I’m excited to just play basketball again. I caught myself just walking onto the court for pregame warmup just kind of smiling, just excited to be out there. When the game started, I was standing up for random plays that probably didn’t need to be cheered for. I was just excited to be back playing basketball.”
The Bulls went 12-10 in Caruso’s absence, and they ranked 26th in the NBA in defensive efficiency in that stretch. On multiple occasions during that span, coach Billy Donovan lamented his Bulls’ lack of communication, and Chicago’s perimeter defense suffered greatly as opposing teams relentlessly attacked the rim.
The Bulls weren’t at their best Saturday with star guard Zach LaVine sitting out with left knee soreness, but they had more than enough against a shorthanded Cavaliers team as Caruso helped address a few of their aforementioned troubles.
Chicago is now 20-9 with Caruso in the lineup this season, and he has a transformative effect on the defense.
“His IQ to see things happening as they’re developing and being able to jump into passing and recognize and read, we become obviously more disruptive,” Donovan said.
“There’s a lot of confidence in that locker room with Alex defensively and what he can do and his disruption and just when he generates steals and deflections and things like that. I think when we were whole with him and Lonzo (Ball) back there, I think that was really the strength of our defense. We were disruptive. Those guys were really, really physical. They’re long, they’re athletic and they’re really, really high-IQ players. So I think when you get a guy like Alex and you throw him back in there, there’s no question your defense is going to better.”
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.