During his first two seasons with the Chicago Bulls, Alex Caruso has only played 80 games.
Injuries have plagued the fan-favorite guard since he came over from the Los Angeles Lakers and his absence has hurt the team in multiple ways.
Caruso is not only a strong offensive player but also a defensive threat and one of the most fierce players in the league, never afraid of a fight.
Alex Caruso will play his 40th game tonight. Last season, he played 41. Billy Donovan said as far back as training camp that trying to keep Caruso healthy was main focus this season. His minutes are down from 28 to 24.4 with this in mind.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 23, 2023
Caruso is set to play his 40th game of the season on Monday night, which will be quite an accomplishment considering he only played 41 games in the 2021-22 season.
Head coach Billy Donovan has commented on how his staff has treated Caruso, going easy on his amount of time on the floor and the impact on his body.
As noted, he is only playing 24.4 minutes a game compared to last season’s 28.
Caruso said that the adjustment has helped him a lot and that he is currently in good shape.
The player said that his shoulder is again 100% healthy and his head is good and his knees and feet are feeling strong as well.
Even though Caruso says that he’s back to his regular self, no Chicago fan should expect to see him playing for all 48 minutes a game.
Injuries have been one of the biggest problems with the Bulls for more than a season now.
Not only has Caruso been hurt but so have Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball.
Even the ever-reliable DeMar DeRozan has started to experience some physical ailments lately.
This is all the more reason why the team is being careful to monitor Caruso and not overdo things.
They don’t want to lose him again.
