Bulls' Alex Caruso talks All-Defense bid, guarding Pascal Siakam
Caruso talks All-Defense bid, guarding Pascal Siakam originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
TORONTO --- Alex Caruso is about making the team he plays for function better, but he’s also not oblivious when it comes to individual honors.
The Chicago Bulls guard knows there are NBA All-Defensive teams. And he also knows he’s never been on one.
That has a good chance of changing this season. Not only did Caruso appear in a career-high 67 games, he led the league in deflections per 36 minutes at 5.2 and finished 10th in charges drawn per game while anchoring a top-five defense.
“It’d be really cool. Coming from a spot where I was undrafted and teams didn’t think I was good enough to be in the league to being, in my eyes, one of the best defenders in the league, we’ll see what other people think,” Caruso said following Wednesday’s morning shootaround in advance of the Bulls’ do-or-die, play-in game versus the Toronto Raptors. “But I’m really proud of how much work I’ve put in and the growth I’ve had to get to this point.
“There are a lot of good defenders in the league. It’s a tough list to make, especially being a guard and only four spots. But I think I am (worthy).”
Caruso worked with the starters at the morning shootaround at Scotiabank Arena, which means coach Billy Donovan is indeed trending toward starting him at power forward against the long and athletic Raptors. That also means the 6-foot-4-inch Caruso will match up with 6-8 Pascal Siakam, as he did when these teams met in February.
That marked Siakam’s only game against the Bulls after the All-Star forward missed the previous two to injury. Siakam had 20 points and eight rebounds on 7-for-18 shooting.
“Try to take away his space. Try to meet him physically early,” Caruso said when asked how he approaches the matchup. “He likes that right hand. But even when he goes left, he has a good repertoire of moves. All you can do is try to keep him as far away from the basket as possible.
“He’s 6-8, can dribble, shoot. He’s a prototypical Raptors player. He’s what they set their team up around---length that can dribble, pass and shoot. You’re either a guard who can shoot really well or a 6-8, 6-9 wing who has length.”
The Bulls’ lineup of Caruso, Patrick Beverley, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic posted the team’s best net rating of any five-man unit that played over 100 minutes together. But it also meant Caruso often matched up against much larger players, something in which he takes pride.
“That’s where I think some of the intangibles I have---being tough, being able to compete---really carry me. Because obviously physically with some of those bigger matchups, I’m a little overwhelmed statistically speaking,” Caruso said. “I try to be smart and use the court to my advantage, know where I have help.”
