LOS ANGELES – Alex Caruso had a dirty little secret to get out.
“Like I’ve intentionally missed a couple charges this year and moved out of the way because I’m realizing that I’ve got to take care of my body and you’ve got to be a little bit selfish at times to do that,” the Bulls guard admitted.
Now before the fan base starts overreacting and questioning heart or the coaching staff begins scrambling to watch film on Caruso to see if he in fact has done that, relax.
Not only is Caruso still on pace to surpass the number of charges he took last season – oh by the way a season in which he was named NBA First-Team All-Defense – but he’s on pace to play the most games he’s ever played in his career.
In Caruso’s world these days, the best ability is availability, because he knows that when he’s on the floor the team is different.
And by different that means better.
“He’s a winning player, and he’s an impactful player,” coach Billy Donovan said of Caruso. “There’s things that he does that a lot of people don’t enjoy doing, but he understands it’s important to winning and that’s what he’s about.”
So why take a charge in the first quarter and jeopardize taking a knee in the thigh, when there are charges to take in the final quarter when the game is on the line?
Then factor in that Caruso is continuing to evolve into not only a scorer, but a clutch scorer, and some aspects of his onions-to-the-wall mentality must be sacrificed. All great defenders that add scoring come to that realization.
“At the end of the day it comes down to the NBA is all about efficiency,” Caruso explained. “That’s what I’ve learned, and I’m kind of finding that middle gear to where I don’t need to play as hard as I can every single minute for this like … I have a level that can get the job done, and I know that’s the level I need to play at for this possession or this game, whatever it is, and I’ve sacrificed other things.
“That being said, I still think you can see this year that I’m still sacrificing a lot for this team to win games when the moment is necessary. I think adding the scoring aspect comes down to what kind of shape are you in, how you prepare yourself, and do you have the energy to do it. If you have the energy to do it, why not?”
Maybe the most underrated aspect of what Caruso has been doing this season.
His 10.1 scoring average is a career high, as is hitting 49.1% from the field. Then factor in he’s hitting 41.5% from three-point range on a career-best 4.4 three-point attempts per game, and there’s a reason he refuses to put a ceiling on just how good of a scorer he can also become.
“One, I don’t know if I have a ceiling,” Caruso said. “I’ve just continually gotten better and better, so I don’t know if I could tap out at anything. Like I still feel like I can shoot better, the three for sure, and just keep on working on higher volume, some more movement stuff, maybe off the dribble, but I feel like I can still get a lot better.
“Since I was in high school, even middle school to high school, high school to college, college to (the Los Angeles Lakers), LA to Chicago, I’ve kept making steps, making steps, so why would I not think that I can make more strides?”
Donovan definitely believes there’s more.
“To where he was when I was in Oklahoma (City) with him to where he is today is pretty amazing, the growth he’s made,” Donovan said. “I really appreciate and respect the fact that he is unfazed if he misses a couple (now). If he’s open he’s getting that thing and shooting.”
The secret is out.