Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said Alex Caruso is dealing with back spasms, which is why the guard asked to come out in the third quarter of Saturday’s 127-109 loss to Miami (Twitter link from Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago). Donovan said “it’s a problem” right now, but it’s not expected to sideline Caruso long-term.
Caruso might be rested during the last four games of the regular season depending on how he’s feeling, Donovan said. Caruso has been working hard to stay on the court by going through treatment, but the back spasms are hampering him at the moment.
Donovan also said the team is trying to slowly work Lonzo Ball back up to sprinting and cutting, but he’s not full speed yet. Donovan expects to know more on Ball’s progress by Tuesday or Wednesday, as Schaefer relays (via Twitter).
Ball hasn’t played since January 14 after suffering a bone bruise and torn meniscus in his left knee, which required surgery. He was originally projected to miss six-to-eight weeks, but he’s now nine-plus weeks removed from surgery. He’s still dealing with the bone bruise and had some discomfort a couple weeks ago.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- The Bulls’ struggles against top-tier teams continued on Saturday when they lost to Miami, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Chicago is a combined 0-17 against the Heat, Bucks, Sixers, Suns, Grizzlies and Warriors. The Bulls are currently 45-33, the No. 6 seed in the East. They trail the Raptors, winners of five straight, by a half-game for the No. 5 seed.
- Second-year forward Patrick Williams recently had his minutes restriction lifted, but Donovan said he’s not going to be handed minutes just because he’s healthy, Cowley writes in a separate story. “When [people] are sitting here, ‘Well, play him 30 minutes,’ sometimes he’s not ready for that,” Donovan said. “I get a chance to be around him every single day and talk to him, and there’s things he’s trying to figure out along the way, too. You want to put him in a position where he can be successful. I have to keep on trusting him. . . . Like, I had to get on him at halftime [Thursday] about, ‘You have to do more.’ It’s got to get to a point where for him it’s more instinctive, where he’s doing it a little more on his own.” Williams missed most of the season after undergoing left wrist surgery.
- With Caruso, Ball and Zach LaVine (sore knee) all dealing with injuries, the Bulls need more production from Coby White, according to Cowley. In 39 games (28.2 MPG) leading up to the All-Star break, White was averaging 14.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG and 2.8 APG on .453/.401/.840 shooting, but he’s been in a bad slump ever since — his averages have dipped to 9.7 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 3.1 APG on .383/.314/1.000 shooting in 19 games (25.3 MPG) post-break. He went 0-of-9 on Saturday, including 0-of-7 from deep.
At full strength, Bulls have a good chance to pass the first round by beating Heat, Celtics, 76ers or Raptors in playoffs
Do they though? As the article mentions, even when healthy, they have yet to defeat 3/4 of those teams.
Furthermore, it seems questionable that Ball will not only be fully healthy, but also without rust by the first round.
I agree those teams all have their flaws, but I don’t think Chicago is much better in that regard.
Technically, the Bulls haven’t been healthy during the 0-17 against those teams. Before Williams went out, the Bulls played Detroit twice, Raptors, Pelicans, and Knicks. Since he’s been back, Lonzo Ball is still sidelined and Caruso got issues. They are most likely a first round exit because they haven’t been totally healthy since the 5th game of the season.
plus didnt say they were 0-17 when health against those teams
That’s technically true, but:
1. Neither have those other teams
2. We don’t know if the outcome would have changed given the limited number of games Chicago has been healthy for this year
The Bulls are still a year away in my opinion.
Being realistic as a Bulls fan, I would say the Bulls have a chance to beat the Celtics or Raptors. They could probably make it interesting against the Bucks but would lose. They have no chance against Philly, Miami. Anyway, All I was looking for was a competitive team this year, And I got it. There is still a ways to go, But like I’ve said, They have the right guys in charge making the decisions. Looking forward to seeing what’s to come this off season.Enjoying the ride. There’s a lot of interesting decisions to be made this FA and draft seasons.
We wont face raptors,but have chance to face celtic.have no chance against heat,bucks,or sixers.dont rush ball back to the game.
I called out Williams’s mental game the other day and was told my head was filled with 🕸
Nostradunker…correct once more
I counted 3 lies in that post.
I only counted one in that last post.
If Williams emerges next year as the team leader he is capable of becoming, they will make a big leap forward. His skills are huge, but he needs to push harder and encourage others to do the same. Too many instances where this team gets out hustled, choosing more often to rely on physical gifts rather than focusing on competing every single player. Vooch and Coby are the most guilty of this, but Lavine also has mental lapses where he tries to fight through triple teams on offense and fails to help on defense.
When shots are not falling, all 3 seem to put more energy into pouting rather than buckling down on defense to prevent the game from getting away.
They have athletic hustle guys like Jones and Green, but they are second tier players who have to play that way just to keep up, and in key moments it results in bad fouls or injury. The ‘stars’ (other than Demar, who has upped his game a notch recently) have to start realizing they cannot wait until they are down by 20 to start playing hard. The most gifted fail to realize that they have to add the extra effort because in the little stops and sequences kept alive by hustle, you make the difference between winning and losing. Even now, the Bulls are only 5.5 games out of first; I can easily name 5 games they should have won but for making these hustle plays.
I think if they add a few upgrades to the bench and gain that Jimmy Butler-like killer instinct, they have a shot at a title next year.
Williams, Team Leader? What about a just turned 20 year old on a team which has Derozan, Vujevic, and who was just fined for being late for a shootaround screams Team Leader to you? Ayo who was a team leader with Illinois and has more experience is a more likely future leader than Williams. Jones and Troy Brown will be gone next year so unless the Bulls clear up a ton of cap space say goodbye anyway. The only way to clear up a ton of cap room would be to sign and trade Lavine and all the Zach lovers would be up in arms. Lonzo, Caruso lead by example so even wishing Williams to be a team leader is pure folly at this point. Coby and Zach the lone GarPax holdovers could both be trade bait in the summer so even guessing what this team will look like next year would be just that, A guess.
I wish bulls will sign and trade away lavine.i knew he was good scorrer, but i dont like his game. Love jaylen brown more than him
Yeh but Bulls ain’t gettin Brown, so how would they improve by trading Lavine?
I predict leadership from Williams. We shall see what happens. Donovan is asking him for it, we shall see if he responds.