Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan announced that Alex Caruso is in the concussion protocol after exiting Game 4 in the second half because he took an elbow to the head. Chicago is currently down 3-1 in their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks and have struggled to manufacture quality looks throughout the series, in addition to losing their way on defense the last two contests.
Caruso’s status for Game 5 is unclear, and that might just hammer the final nail in the Bulls’ coffin.
"“It’s probably gonna be a day-to-day thing with him,” Donovan said. He’s obviously going to have to go through a series of tests before he’s cleared. I don’t know how long that would take and how long it would take for his symptoms to go away… We’ll find out more on Tuesday.”"
This isn’t the first time that Bucks have taken Caruso out of the Bulls lineup, however. Remember Grayson Allen?!
Bucks take him out again https://t.co/HcyNZ1X0Wp
— Jed Wells (@JedWells23) April 24, 2022
If Alex Caruso misses Game 5, the Bulls might be done for
In January, Allen committed the infamous flagrant two foul on Caruso, fracturing Caruso’s wrist. The Bulls guard missed several weeks and Chicago went on a nasty losing streak. This go-around, the play wasn’t as controversial. Jevon Carter was coming off of a screen and accidentally hit Caruso in the face.
No one within the Bulls camp is calling the play dirty, despite the clear impact on Caruso.
"“It wasn’t really necessarily a flagrant play at all,” Donovan said. “I’m sure he got his head jarred back, he just got caught up in a screen there going for the ball and he got hit pretty good.”"
There wasn’t any intent behind the play but it will have an adverse impact on Chicago. Caruso has been their leader in this series. In their first two games in Milwaukee, he was the defensive catalyst for the Bulls and hit every timely shot they needed.
Without Caruso, Patrick Williams will likely be the lone force on Giannis in the starting lineup. He will have to defend the Bucks’ best player one-on-one without the elite help Caruso has been providing.
Alex Caruso's status for Game 5 vs. the Bucks remains unclearhttps://t.co/8DfPnhcpUZ
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) April 25, 2022
His absence will also call for one of the role guys off the bench to step up offensively. That’s going to be the biggest factor in Chicago’s chances of pushing the series to a Game 6. Coby White has struggled tremendously over the last three games, while Ayo Dosumnu has been up and down — in both his play and minutes.
Dosunmu started the second half of Game 4 in Caruso’s place, playing a series-high 29 minutes. He was able to find his shot in those minutes but kept getting lost on defense.
Donovan may need to explore reincorporating Troy Brown or extending Derrick Jones Jr.’s minutes in Caruso’s possible absence. If Chicago isn’t able to make up for Caruso’s defensive impact or at least score the ball at a high rate, their season will be over after Wednesday night.