Chicago Bulls: 3 stars Alex Caruso has shut down defensively

Stars Chicago Bulls’ new G Alex Caruso locked down defensively: James Harden

If there was one true superstar guard that had a ton of trouble against Caruso last season, it was the Brooklyn Nets star scorer and former Houston Rockets combo guard James Harden. The former Arizona State Sun Devil is a nine-time All-Star selection, three-time scoring champ, and 2017-18 NBA MVP, was really good for the Rockets and Nets the last few seasons.

But it was an exception when he faced up against Caruso, especially last season.

Caruso defended Harden in more than three-dozen possessions last season. And in that time, Harden only hit one field goal (which was a three-pointer), and turned the ball over three times. The exception here was the fact that Harden did get nine assists while Caruso defended him last season.

Yet, the fact that Caruso never fouled Harden in that number of possessions defending him is insanely impressive. Harden averaged around 10 free-throw attempts per 100 possessions last season, and 12.5 in his career. The fact that Caruso can go more than 30 possessions defending Harden without a single shooting foul just goes to show how disciplined and fundamentally solid the former Laker is.

And if we rewind back to the 2019-20 season, Harden still had all sorts of trouble hitting his looks from the field and from beyond the arc while Caruso defended him. Harden had one assist, one turnover, and shot 0-of-5 from the field when Caruso guarded him during the 2019-20 campaign.

The fact that Caruso had so much success defending Harden in the last two seasons bodes well for when the Bulls face the Nets next season.