Alex

Caruso

Caruso is reportedly on the move after spending the last three seasons in the Windy City. After injuries limited the veteran guard to 41 games during the 2021-22 campaign, he played 67 and 71 games the following two seasons. Caruso averaged 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.0 blocks, and 1.9 3-pointers this past season in 28.7 minutes. Posting career-high averages in points, rebounds, steals (tied with 2021-22), blocks, and 3-pointers, Caruso provided 5th-round per-game value in 8- and 9-cat formats. He’s never been a high-usage player, and that attribute, combined with the defending and 3-point shooting, should make for a good fit next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Caruso was a game-time decision for Friday after injuring his foot during the first half of Wednesday’s win over the Hawks. While he played starters’ minutes, he did not have much impact on either end of the floor. The limited scoring output was unsurprising, but the Bulls struggled to defend Tyler Herro and Jaime Jaquez Jr. with a limited Caruso on the court. The rugged guard finished the season as a 5th-round player in 8- and 9-cat formats, exceeding his Yahoo ADP (140.7) by a significant margin. The only way Caruso is off the board in standard leagues ahead of the 100th pick will be if Zach LaVine (foot), Lonzo Ball (knee), and Patrick Williams (foot) aren’t available for the start of next season and pending free agent DeMar DeRozan is not re-signed.

Caruso is good to go after logging just 17 minutes in Chicago’s play-in game against the Hawks. The Bulls guard will likely remain in his team’s three-guard starting lineup alongside Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White.

Caruso was limited to 17 minutes against the Hawks on Wednesday, and early reports indicated that his status against the Heat was “in doubt”. However, Chicago should have their best defender available as they try to win in Miami to move on to take on the Celtics. The Heat won’t have Jimmy Butler or Terry Rozier, so Caruso will be tasked with limiting Tyler Herro.

Both players were questionable ahead of Wednesday’s matchup with Atlanta after sitting out the final game of the regular season (or in Drummond’s case final three games), but they were both available to play. Though they are questionable again, there shouldn’t be much fear that they will sit out. Alex Caruso is officially questionable, and he is the only player that may end up missing Friday’s game.

Caruso briefly exited from Wednesday’s game before returning to play more. He ended up exiting early and only played 17 total minutes in the win. Wojnarowski also added that White’s status is “in doubt”, so if he can’t suit up against the Heat on Friday, Javonte Green will likely start in his place. He logged 22 minutes against Atlanta and finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.

The lone negative for White on Sunday was the 3-point shooting, as he missed all three of his attempts. However, that didn’t keep him from scoring 26 points, as the Knicks struggled to keep the jet-quick guard from getting to his spots off the dribble. White heads into the Play-In tournament having scored 20 or more in three of his last four games. Alex Caruso didn’t struggle from beyond the arc, as he was 3-of-5 and finished with 15 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and five steals in 41 minutes. Chicago hosts Atlanta on Wednesday in the East’s 9/10 matchup.

After sitting out Friday’s win over the Wizards, DeRozan, Vucevic, and Caruso are off the injury report for Sunday’s regular-season finale. The Bulls are locked into the 9-seed in the East, which could impact how much the starters play in New York.

The Bulls are locked into the 9-seed in the East, so there’s little reason for them not to give their key players time to rest ahead of the Play-In tournament. Expect to see plenty of players, such as Dalen Terry, Javonte Green, Onuralp Bitim, Jevon Carter, and Adama Sanogo, to name a few.

Coby White is the only Bulls starter who doesn’t carry an injury designation into Friday’s matchup with Washington, and he should handle a significant workload. If Chicago’s questionable players end up sitting this one out, guys like Dalen Terry, Onuralp Bitim, Jevon Carter and Torrey Craig should see extra run.