LOS ANGELES — There is glory in what Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan does offensively late in games.
He wears the ‘‘King of the Fourth’’ crown proudly.
After all, when the opposing team and everyone in the arena know the basketball will be in your hands, as will the fate of your team, delivering time and time again is regal.
Guard Alex Caruso operates in a different space. He thrives in the dark.
A late-game steal. A deflection to mess with the offensive timing. Drawing a game-changing charge. The gritty plays that
require physical sacrifice, with the reward usually being floor burns. Those are just as important on the scoreboard, but they often are covered up in the grime.
DeRozan might be the king, but Caruso is his right hand.
‘‘He’s incredible,’’ coach Billy Donovan said of Caruso’s display of defensive prowess on the Bulls’ road trip. ‘‘I think you need a full complement of players that can play to their own identity, and what he does is so unique. There’s no one on our team that does that, and there’s probably not that many players in the league that do what he does.
‘‘The thing I admire and respect about him is he loves that. A lot of guys don’t enjoy that. They don’t enjoy the things he does. He understands the things he does. One, it’s his identity; it’s what he’s carved his career out of. He was a point guard in college, and he had really good anticipation and was a good steal guy, but he wasn’t the defender he is now. I give him a lot of credit. When smart guys get to the league, they figure out how they can impact winning and the team, and he’s really done that.’’
With the Bulls up by two with 36 seconds left Monday in Sacramento, it was Caruso who baited Kings guard De’Aaron Fox into a bad pass on an inbounds play. Bulls win.
With the Bulls ahead by three and 52.1 seconds left Wednesday in Salt Lake City, Caruso came up with a steal against the Jazz. Bulls win.
Then with the score tied and 58 seconds left Thursday against the red-hot Warriors in San Francisco, all Caruso did was get his body in front of Draymond Green, draw an offensive foul and foul Green out of the game. Bulls win.
‘‘Yeah, that’s why I play basketball — to win the game,’’ Caruso said.
Asked whether he thinks his style of play gets overlooked, he responded: ‘‘Not with my teammates, no. I know they appreciate it. I know they know it takes that stuff to win, just as much as it takes a crazy and-one throw-in shot from DeMar. It takes fighting over screens, coming up with loose balls, rebounding, and I know they appreciate that. They encourage me.
‘‘I know [guard] Ayo [Dosunmu] is hyping me up half the game, telling me, ‘First-team all-defense, activate.’ He tries to get me going.’’
That’s what has been so amazing through this stretch of Bulls victories. Yes, they are confident that DeRozan will deliver with the ball in his hands, but they are just as confident that Caruso will cause some chaotic play on the other end that’s just as important.
‘‘He’s so good defensively and does it every game,’’ center Nikola Vucevic said. ‘‘You don’t take it for granted, but when it happens, you’re kind of like: ‘That’s normal. That’s Alex. That’s what he does.’ The plays he makes are so important. It’s a huge bonus for us to have that on the defensive end.’’
That’s a big reason executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas made Caruso all but untouchable at the trade deadline. In Karnisovas’ eyes Caruso is whom he wants the Bulls to play like. He is the culture.
You don’t trade culture.
‘‘You talk about making quick decisions — those charges, loose balls and slap-downs — the decision-making by him in those moments is unbelievable,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘There are times where it looks like he’s out of the play, and it’s a deflection, a tip, a disruptive play. It’s amazing what he does.’’
It is, but it’s a style of play Caruso has embraced. Playing defensive irritant was his path to the NBA, and the opposition is feeling the result of that journey.
‘‘I don’t notice it too much from the other team,’’ a smirking Caruso said when he was asked if he can tell opposing teams are
annoyed with the plays he makes late in games. ‘‘But I know that it’s effective, and I would assume they don’t enjoy it.’’
