Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Alex Caruso deserves better than the Bulls.
It is almost impossible to successfully defend Kevin Durant. Even at 35 years old, the superstar forward has one of the most advanced scoring arsenals in the league, a near 7-footer with deep range and soft touch on his jumper who can shoot over defenders with a hesi pull-up jimbo whenever he wants.
Alex Caruso drew the assignment against Durant when the Chicago Bulls hosted the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night. The Suns came away with a 116-115 victory, but Caruso made them sweat for it. Chicago’s defensive ace ferociously guarded Durant throughout the entire night despite giving up at least six inches in size, and he made so many remarkable plays to keep the Bulls in the game all night.
Chicago was already down 22-4 by the time Caruso checked into the game midway through the first quarter. His entrance immediately started a Bulls run, with Caruso blowing up Phoenix’s offensive actions at one end and then draining three consecutive three-pointers to close the period at the other end.
Caruso’s dominance continued all night, and the stats showed it. Caruso was +24 in a one-point Bulls loss. While single game plus-minus is typically extremely noisy, on this night it was a good gauge of just how heroic Caruso’s effort really was. Durant gave Caruso a glowing review with his post-game comments. Listen below:
Kevin Durant on Alex Caruso:
“He’s a phenomenal player. I don’t even want to call him a role player. But just a guy that you can plug with any lineup and he’s going to make the right reads, the right plays on the defensive and offensive side.” pic.twitter.com/nuJWFv8ekl
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) November 9, 2023
“I don’t want to even call him a role player,” Durant said after the game. “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.”
Durant still had a hell of a game on the night, finishing with 25 points, nine assists, and seven reboundson 7-of-16 shooting. He also turned the ball over six times, and missed several clutch buckets with Caruso defending him. Caruso held KD to 0-of-5 shooting between the fourth quarter and overtime.
With the game tied on the final possession of regulation, Caruso forced a miss from Durant to push the game to OT:
Caruso did it again in overtime. If the Suns thought they could post Durant up on Caruso because of his height advantage, they thought wrong. This was a sloppy entry pass from Jusuf Nurkic, and Caruso picked it off no problem:
Caruso was essentially giving his team all the answers down the stretch. This video from the great Steph Noh of The Sporting News shows how Caruso’s incredible intelligence benefits the Bulls as much as his non-stop motor.
In the clip, Caruso calls out Phoenix’s play, and the Bulls are able to make the right rotations because of it.
This game would have been a blowout without Caruso on the floor. There are so many instances of game-changing defensive plays to keep the Bulls afloat even before you get into the fact that he also had a great game offensively.
Watch Caruso strip Durant on a drive during the second quarter, and then draw an offensive foul on him on the very next possession:
Caruso has been doing this all season. The Bulls have a 115.8 defensive rating without him on the floor, which would rank No. 25 in the league. With Caruso on the floor, the Bulls’ defensive rating is 106.6, which would rank No. 6 in the league.
Caruso talked about his matchup with Durant after the game:
Alex Caruso joked with Mo Cheeks after regulation: “If you told young Alex Caruso he’d get to guard Kevin Durant one-on-one for a game, he would’ve been pretty excited. Probably a little scared, but pretty excited.”
Caruso was in middle school when Durant made his NBA debut. pic.twitter.com/Ko0OyGFmgM
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) November 9, 2023
The loss dropped Chicago to 3-6 on the year. The Bulls have the No. 21 offense, No. 22 defense, and No. 23 net-rating in the league through the first nine games. The numbers show the Bulls aren’t even “mid” — they’re worse than that. Las Vegas’ preseason line of 36.5 wins looks like it’s spot-on so far. At this point, the Bulls would be lucky just to make the end of the play-in tournament.
It’s a shame Caruso’s impact is being wasted on a team as hopeless as the Bulls. He deserves to be playing the type of meaningful games late the season that Chicago isn’t good enough to be involved in. If the Bulls ever decide to blow it up, Caruso should be the first player they trade. He’d be a great fit on any contender, and his ability to change the game goes so far beyond his box score numbers.
Caruso is on a super team-friendly, making a shade under $10 million this year and next year. That’s the type of contract that’s easy to trade. If the Bulls do it, they will immediately fall to the near the bottom of the standings even without tanking. That’s how important Caruso is. Meanwhile, the team that trades for Caruso can land a player with legitimately ability to swing a playoff series.
Alex Caruso deserves better than the Bulls. A team needs to make Chicago an offer it can’t refuse for him before it’s too late.
