Bulls guard Alex Caruso was guarded with his words, offering more proof he has no problem guarding anything.
Caruso, an All-Defensive first-team selection last season, recently was discussing the idea of being moved into the starting lineup. He was doing so in a way that respected the Bulls’ decisions, but he also was letting everyone involved know that if he’s asked to jump, he’s a ‘‘How high?’’ type of guy.
‘‘I guard the best players every night, [and] I do it in a way that’s physically demanding,’’ Caruso told the Sun-Times. ‘‘But it’s one of those things where at a certain point in the season and a certain situation, you realize, ‘All right, we gotta go now!’ I don’t know if we’re at that point yet.’’
Guess what? The Bulls are there.
Sure, the NBA regular season is only 10% in the books and a lot can happen in the next 72 games. But there’s a good chance the Bulls (3-6) don’t have 72 more games to make key decisions about their roster. Realistically, it’s about 40 at the most before the trade deadline Feb. 8. Considering teams start laying the groundwork for deals about a week before that, call it 35 or so to be safe.
The Bulls’ loss Wednesday to the Suns was yet another reminder of just how much better they are when Caruso is on the court.
Caruso showed that in closing time — defensively and offensively — and coach Billy Donovan has to understand it’s time to give him the minutes at the start of games.
The argument the front office and coaching staff have made — that they need to protect Caruso from himself because of how physically he plays — makes sense. But it’s time to take the bubble wrap off their best defender and roll the dice.
Patrick Williams didn’t work, and Torrey Craig hasn’t solved all the issues. Both are capable defenders, but they aren’t Caruso. There’s an ‘‘it’’ factor Caruso plays with.
One of the best scorers on the planet said so after the game Wednesday.
‘‘A hard worker who is going to do all he can for his teammates,’’ Suns star Kevin Durant said of Caruso. ‘‘That stuff [he does] makes up for a lot of mistakes.
‘‘He’s a phenomenal player. I don’t want to even call him a role player. He’s a guy you can plug with any lineup, and he will make the right reads and right plays on the defensive and offensive side. The Bulls are lucky to have him.’’
Now it’s time for them to be smart enough to start him.
Stars DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic still look disconnected on most nights. According to one source, the feeling is there’s still some confusion in the pecking order, especially late in close games.
That’s what makes Caruso so valuable: He doesn’t care about a scoring pecking order or ego. And when it comes to the stars’ frequent defensive lapses, he is the ultimate eraser of those mistakes.
‘‘I’m just ready to go to work,’’ Caruso said. ‘‘This is what I show up to do, what I get paid to do. I’m a hell of a defensive player. I think I’ve taken strides offensively to be a very good player on that end. So for me, I’m confident to go out there and play.
‘‘This is now seven years’ experience for me. I’m comfortable playing in the NBA. For me, it’s just about going out there and competing and doing what I love to do — playing basketball.’’
So the Bulls need to let him do that — and let him do that at the start of games.
It’s time.
