Alex Caruso will be on minutes restriction for Bulls vs. Heat
What promises to be one of the bigger tests this season for second-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Chicago Bulls (at least from what we’ve seen so far) lies ahead on the night of Dec. 11 against head coach Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat. Donovan and the Bulls are set to take on Spoelstra and the Heat on a night where both teams are missing a ton of key players.
On the Bulls side, it seems like the entirety of the rotation is now in the league’s health and safety protocol, largely what is likely due to COVID-19 cases running rampant with this team. The Bulls are missing the likes of star shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan, point guard Coby White, shooting guard/forward Javonte Green, forward Derrick Jones Jr., and rookie point guard Ayo Dosunmu, among others, thanks to quarantine due to the league’s health and safety protocol.
About the only bit of positive news for the Bulls heading into this meeting with the Heat on the road on Dec. 11 is the fact that they get the defensive standout point guard Alex Caruso back from a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the last two games. While it will be nice to have Caruso back for the Bulls against the Heat, he likely won’t be at full strength on this night.
Alex Caruso reportedly on limited minutes for the Chicago Bulls against the Heat on Dec. 11
Donovan reportedly stated before this game that Caruso “will be on a minutes restriction tonight”. Caruso will be “looking at 5-7 minute rotations”. But Donovan did mention that “a lot will rely on his in-game feedback about how his hamstring is feeling”.
Billy Donovan says Alex Caruso will be on a minutes restriction tonight. Looking at 5-7 minute rotations, but a lot will rely on his in-game feedback about how his hamstring is feeling.
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) December 11, 2021
Despite whatever minute restriction Caruso will be on for the Bulls on this night, this team needs as many bodies as they can get in the rotation. In the wake of the initial major wave of COVID-19 cases on the team, the Bulls were able to get a hardship exemption to sign the likes of forward Alfonzo McKinnie and small forward Stanley Johnson.
But Johnson is already out due to the league’s health and safety protocol. Thus, Caruso will be really important to the rotation against a good team like the Heat.
Moreover, the Heat are doing so hot in terms of absences in this game either. The Heat will namely be missing the likes of star shooting guard/small forward Jimmy Butler, center Bam Adebayo, and guard Victor Oladipo, among others.
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Caruso and the Bulls are carrying a record of 17-9 into this meeting with the Heat on the road following a double-digit loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road back on Dec. 8. Tip-off time between the Bulls and Heat is set for 7 p.m. CT on Dec. 11 at FTX Arena in Miami.