MILWAUKEE – The toe admittedly doesn’t feel great.
Alex Caruso was dealing with that, however, with some good old-fashioned rest, as well as the medical staff “doing scientific stuff that I don’t know the answers to.’’
Now, if only the Bulls guard could find a cure for the boredom that comes with being sidelined.
Missing his second consecutive game with a sprained toe, Caruso said he was hoping to be back in action by Wednesday or Friday. He sounded like a guy counting it down.
“Like once you get the season going it’s just a routine of shootarounds, nap, food, warm-up, game, travel, next day … You know what you’re going to get,’’ Caruso explained on Monday. “When I don’t have that it’s just a bunch of time where I’m not doing anything. It’s just kind of boring.’’
The good news for the Bulls and Caruso was the injury could have been worse.
According to Caruso, he came down with a rebound in practice on Friday, and “was twisting after I landed and was pushing off.’’
The pain was initially in the toe, but crept into the top of the foot as well. The treatment and rest have been working, but not quick enough as far as Caruso was concerned.
The Bulls might feel the same way considering how valuable Caruso has been through the early part of the season. Not only was there the elite defensive component Caruso brings to the table, but he’s actually been one of their better three-point shooters, hitting on 44% from long range and doing it in the clutch.
Then there’s the intangibles he brings to the table.
A rarity that Billy Donovan has only seen from a couple of players he’s coached at the NBA level.
“I think the two guys that come to mind are when Andre Roberson was at Oklahoma City, he was kind of like that guy,’’ Donovan said. “He was the defender that guarded a lot of different guys. I think our team got a lot of energy off of him.
“And the other guy his rookie year was (Luguentz) Dort. He was just this stopping defensive guy and whoever you put him on he could be disruptive. Those two guys, I know they’re different players, but they brought that kind of spirit that lifted your team.’’
Stop and go
Ayo Dosunmu continued to be a key fixture off the bench, forcing the coaching staff to increase his minutes with how well he’s been playing.
Besides adding six pounds of muscle to help him in the strength department, another improvement from Dosunmu has been his understanding of how to pace the team when he’s got the ball in his hands.
“I think he’s reading situations better, his change of pace,’’ Donovan said of Dosunmu. “He’s understanding how he’s being guarded, what teams are doing to him, and then playing with tempo has allowed him to kind of manipulate some screening actions and finding his way downhill into the paint. But he’s played with a very good tempo, a better tempo then he did a year ago.’’
Small climb
The numbers have taken a small jump for Patrick Williams since he’s gone from starter to coming off the bench with the second unit, especially in his field goal percentage, going from 27% to 34% as a reserve. Still not great, but better.
“Patrick has responded well coming off the bench,’’ Donovan said. “He’s going to try and impact the game through the things he feels like he can control.’’