It was hard to hide the excitement.
As Alex Caruso was doing an on-court post-game television hit after the Saturday win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, his teammates started gathering for the videobomb.
First came Zach LaVine, looking like a grad assistant from a Philosophy 101 class with his new-look glasses, hugging Caruso and then stealing his signature headband as a souvenir. Then came a lunging Tristan Thompson, jumping on Caruso’s back with a hug.
“That headband is sweaty as s—,” Caruso warned on live TV, as LaVine walked away, and Javonte Green came by and slapped the guard on the behind.
Caruso’s return didn’t make the Bulls fully complete, but it did make them completely disruptive.
A fact that was recognized by everyone.
That’s why Green donned a white headband at the start of the game, and why Patrick Williams wore a Caruso jersey underneath his coat on the bench.
They not only understand the importance their defensive sparkplug has when he’s playing, but Caruso’s teammates generally embrace the guy.
“We have great chemistry,” Caruso said, when all the love being shown by his teammates was brought up. “I think everybody on the team is pulling for whoever it is at the time that needs it, and [Saturday] it was me.”
The right thing for the veteran to say, but not necessarily true.
The Bulls needed Caruso on the court and playing way more than Caruso needed gestures and butt slaps in his first game back from a broken right wrist, suffered back on Jan. 21.
And with just 15 regular-season games left, Caruso’s return couldn’t be better timing.
Starting Monday in Sacramento, four of the next five games are against offenses that are in the top 15 in points scored, while Utah, Phoenix and Milwaukee are top six. The Bulls have shown throughout the season that they can score with anyone. It’s the stopping the opposition that’s been the issue, specifically when Caruso doesn’t play.
If the Bulls want to hold off a red-hot Boston team for at least a home-court advantage in that first round of the playoffs, getting defensive will be key. That was evident on Saturday, as the Bulls finished with 12 steals – Caruso led the way with four – and held a team under 100 points for the first time since, coincidentally back on Jan. 21, which was the last game Caruso played.
“I think when you bring scorers back, a lot of times the team has to adjust to that and he has to adjust to the team,” coach Billy Donovan said. “But when you’re bringing a defender back, it’s a lot easier.
“There’s a lot of confidence in that locker room with Alex defensively and the way he generates steals and deflections.”
Even more confidence when Lonzo Ball (left knee) and Patrick Williams (left wrist) are added to the equation.
Williams could likely return on the West Coast trip, as long as there are no setbacks in practices and shootarounds. Ball is a bit more blurry, still working through the process of lateral cutting and running.
Either way, more defensive help is on the way, and Caruso offered up a preview of what that would look like.
“I think when we were whole with [Caruso] and Lonzo back there, I think that was really the strength of our defense,” Donovan said. “We were disruptive. Those guys were really, really physical. They’re long, they’re athletic and they’re really, really high IQ players.”
More videobombs to come.
