The Miami Heat will likely be missing Alex Caruso, the greatest defender for the Chicago Bulls, due to a “significant” sprain of his right foot, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Caruso suffered the injury during Chicago’s 131-116 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday to prolong their season in the Play-In Tournament. However, it now seems that he could not be well enough to play against the Heat as the Bulls attempt to clinch the No. 8 seed in the East playoffs.
Caruso’s injury occurred during a tussle with Bulls big man Andre Drummond in the second quarter. As both players attempted to go back on defense while the Hawks were in transition, Drummond virtually ran straight over Caruso. This put the All-Defensive guard to the ground, where he briefly winced in pain. Caruso got back up and attempted to walk it off, but he was hardly able to support his right leg. He hobbled over to the Chicago bench, where Bulls coach Billy Donovan called a timeout to remove him from the game. Caruso returned to the changing area and attempted to participate in the second half, but he was only able to play for a short while.
Caruso revealed following the game that he had been experiencing problems with the same foot throughout the final few weeks of the regular season.
“[Drummond] caught me on my right foot that kinda gave out [and] my left one tried to catch me,” said Caruso. “Just kind of tweaked my ankle a little bit — that same one I was dealing with for the last couple weeks of the season that we were managing and figuring out.”
Luckily, the Hawks didn’t put up much of a fight, and the Bulls managed to continue playing without Caruso in the second half. However, facing Miami on Friday will be a more challenging assignment. Jimmy Butler may be out of the Heat lineup for that game due to an MCL injury, according to reports. The ailment might keep him out for several weeks. The Heat are a formidable opponent even without Butler, so the Bulls will need to play their best defense to defeat them on the road.
It is impossible to overestimate Caruso’s defensive contributions. He can hold his own against bigger defenders when necessary and is Chicago’s finest perimeter defender. The Bulls give up seven fewer points per 100 possessions while he’s playing than when he’s sitting, and he’s averaging a career-high 10.1 points on just more than 40% of 3-pointers. The Bulls roster will need to be more cohesive on that end of the court without Caruso as there isn’t a replacement who can step in and take his defensive duties right away.