One of the highlights of this Chicago Bulls’ season has been Alex Caruso. Last year, he made the All-Defensive First Team, and while his offense has taken a huge leap this season, his defense is still the primary way he affects the game. He’s constantly being challenged with guarding opposing teams’ best players for the Bulls, and Monday night was no different.
Caruso was tasked with guarding Luka Doncic on Monday. The Slovenian superstar is having an incredible season this year, and unfortunately for the Bulls, he took over the game. Alongside the play of Daniel Gafford and Dereck Lively II, the Mavericks took down the Bulls.
After the game, Caruso spoke about the challenge of guarding Doncic. (H/t Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune)
“He’s a unique player and can do a lot of things,” Caruso said. “He’s 6-7 and 200-whatever playing the point. He can play pick-and-roll, can play iso, he’s a three-level scorer. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. He’s one of the best players in the league for a reason. It’s always fun to play against some of the best players every night. Went from guarding Steph to Kawhi Leonard on the road in back-to-back games, and to come off a week of guarding Zion (Williamson) and Giannis (Antetokounmpo). For me, every night is a new, interesting challenge, and Luka’s diversity just brings another one.”
Caruso finished the game with four points, five rebounds, and three assists on 1-of-6 shooting on all three-pointers.
