Chicago Bulls: 2 studs, 1 dud, from massive win over Lakers

Chicago Bulls studs from win over the Lakers: Alex Caruso

It was before facing the Lakers that the Bulls got the defensive standout point guard Alex Caruso back in the rotation. Caruso was actually dealing with a hamstring injury for the Bulls prior to this big outbreak of COVID-19 within the team in the last couple of weeks. He was back active in the rotation in the loss to the Heat last weekend.

Caruso is certainly contributing at a high level for the Bulls this season. And he stood out against his former team for the second time this season.

Playing in the starting five in this game for the Bulls in the absence of star shooting guard Zach LaVine (who is still in the league’s health and safety protocol), Caruso was great on this night. Caruso and point guard Lonzo Ball were both among the leaders in playing time in this game, both getting around 38 minutes on the floor.

Caruso gave the Bulls 17 points on a solid 6-of-11 shooting from the field, 3-of-5 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-4 from the free-throw line. He also registered nine rebounds, two assists, one steal, no blocks, and three turnovers.

The turnovers were the main issue for Caruso on this night. But his rebounding, shooting, and solid on-ball defense did more than enough to make up for those three turnovers.

As long as the Bulls are getting big-time contributions like the ones they got from Caruso in this win over the Lakers, this team should be fine without LaVine in the starting unit.