Chicago Bulls: Alex Caruso’s defense reaching elite levels
Many wouldn’t believe if you told them this ahead of the start of Training Camp and the preseason, but a major catalyst to the undefeated start for the Chicago Bulls this season is defense. A weakness with this newly configured Bulls team was figured to come on the defensive end of the floor, and that made sense given the personnel on hand.
Second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls brought in some key new additions since the trade deadline last season that are solid on offense but can struggle on defense. The main names that come to mind in this regard are star center Nikola Vucevic and shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan.
There were some other signings that the front office made last offseason, though, that were made to help bolster the defense. Two names that come to mind in that regard are former Los Angeles Lakers defensive standout guard Alex Caruso and former Lakers and New Orleans Pelicans two-way point guard Lonzo Ball.
It’s hard to argue with the results that the likes of Lonzo and Caruso have produced on the defensive end of the floor out of the gates this season. Lonzo just had a historic night heading into this weekend, with a triple-double with no turnovers, in the Bulls win over his former team in the home opener on Oct. 22.
Donovan and the Bulls also got some special outings from Caruso off the bench on defense. That included a great night on defense for Caruso in the Bulls 97-82 win at home at the United Center over the division foe Detroit Pistons on the night of Oct. 23.
Caruso was solid on offense too in this win over the Pistons, coming up with a dozen points, no rebounds, and four assists, in around 26.5 minutes played off the bench. He came up with the 12 points while shooting 3-of-4 from the field, a perfect 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, and a perfect 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
But it was the defensive efforts for Caruso in this game that really stood out for the Bulls. He came up with a whopping game-high five steals and one block. That was good for a sparkling 74 defensive rating and 9.0 steal percentage.
Chicago Bulls seeing Alex Caruso play amazing defense against the Pistons
Caruso has really terrorized the Pistons on the defensive end of the floor this season too. In the two meetings with the Pistons to start the regular season slate (two games came in a span of just four days), Caruso has tallied up nine steals, three blocks, and 0.3 defensive win shares.
No one else on either team put up defensive numbers like that in the two meetings between the Bulls and Pistons so far this season.
The perimeter defense for Caruso was especially potent to start the season. Opponents are shooting just 25 percent from beyond the arc this season when Caruso is matched up with them on defense.
To really show how valuable Caruso’s defense is to Donovan and the Bulls off the bench, you can look at his game-by-game numbers in comparison to the rest of the reserves around the league. Caruso is one of three players around the NBA this season to put up at least three steals and one block in a game while coming off the bench.
Alex Caruso is also the only player in the NBA this season to have multiple games where he registers at least 3 steals and one block in a game coming off the bench.
— Pippen Ain't Easy (@BullsBeatBlog) October 24, 2021
The other two are big man Naz Reid and defensive standout two-guard/wing Matisse Thybulle.
All in all, Caruso might be the most valuable player coming off the bench for the Bulls right now. Donovan and the Bulls have found a clear-cut role for him as a point guard in the second unit that also plays a lot of minutes with the starters.
Just to show the impact that Caruso had so far this season, he’s got a +12.8 net rating on the court. And he’s got around an on/off plus/minus around +1 through three games this season.
As the Bulls move into a more difficult part of the schedule this season later this month, and throughout November, having Caruso play some of these critical minutes on defense will be huge. He didn’t face many stars in the first three games of the season, but that will change in the not-too-distant future.
Next. 3 players who can help the Bulls stay undefeated. dark
Following the Bulls’ 15-point win over the Pistons at home at the United Center on the night of Oct. 23, this team holds a spotless record of 3-0. Next up for Caruso and the Bulls is a meeting with the Toronto Raptors on the road on Oct. 25, with tip-off time set for 6:30 p.m. CT.