Alex Caruso’s dirty little secret is out, and the Bulls are benefitting

LOS ANGELES — Bulls guard Alex Caruso had a dirty little secret to get out.

‘‘I’ve intentionally missed a couple of charges this year and moved out of the way because I’m realizing that I’ve got to take care of my body, and you’ve got to be a little bit selfish at times to do that,’’ he said.

But before the fan base starts overreacting and questioning his heart or the coaching staff begins watching film to see whether Caruso has done that, relax.

Not only is Caruso still on pace to surpass the number of charges he took last season, when he was named first-team All-Defense, but he’s on pace to play the most games in his career.

For Caruso these days, the best ability is availability because he knows the Bulls are a different team when he’s on the court.

And ‘‘different’’ means ‘‘better,’’ in this case.

‘‘He’s a winning player, and he’s an impactful player,’’ coach Billy Donovan said of Caruso. ‘‘There’s things that he does that a lot of people don’t enjoy doing, but he understands it’s important to winning, and that’s what he’s about.”

So why take a charge in the first quarter and jeopardize taking a knee in the thigh when there are charges to take when the game is on the line in the fourth?

Then factor in that Caruso is continuing to evolve into a clutch scorer, which means some aspects of his relentless defensive mentality must be sacrificed. All great defenders who add scoring come to that realization.

‘‘At the end of the day, it comes down to the NBA is all about efficiency,’’ Caruso said. ‘‘That’s what I’ve learned, and I’m kind of finding that middle gear to where I don’t need to play as hard as I can every single minute. . . . I have a level that can get the job done, and I know that’s the level I need to play at for this possession or this game, whatever it is, and I’ve sacrificed other things.

‘‘That being said, I think you can see this year that I’m still sacrificing a lot for this team to win games when the moment is necessary. I think adding the scoring aspect comes down to what kind of shape are you in, how you prepare yourself and do you have the energy to do it. If you have the energy to do it, why not?’’

Scoring might be the most underrated aspect of what Caruso has been doing this season. His 10.1-point average is a career high. So is his 49.1% shooting from the field. Then factor in that he’s shooting 41.5% on an average of 4.4 three-pointers per game, and there’s a reason he refuses to put a ceiling on just how good a scorer he can become.

‘‘I don’t know if I have a ceiling,’’ Caruso said. ‘‘I’ve just continually gotten better and better, so I don’t know if I could tap out at anything. I still feel like I can shoot better — the three, for sure — and just keep on working on higher volume, some more movement stuff, maybe off the dribble. But I feel like I can still get a lot better.

‘‘Since I was in high school, even middle school to high school, high school to college, college to [the Lakers], L.A. to Chicago, I’ve kept making steps. So why would I not think that I can make more strides?’’

Donovan definitely thinks there’s more.

‘‘From where he was when I was in Oklahoma [City] to where he is today is pretty amazing, the growth he’s made,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘I really appreciate and respect the fact that he is unfazed if he misses a couple [now]. If he’s open, he’s getting that thing and shooting.’’

The secret is out.