Entering his seventh NBA season, Alex Caruso has forged his identity on doing the dirty work.
He’s comfortable coming off the bench and accepts the challenge of playing every position from the one to the four. And even after earning his first All-Defensive Second Team selection last season, Caruso isn’t one to focus on individual accolades.
“I’ve found individual success has always followed team success,” Caruso told the Tribune. “When we win games, when we perform well, I fall in line with that. When a team doesn’t do well, I usually don’t have as great a season or as great a performance as I can. So that makes it easy for me to just black out and lock into what we need to do night after night.”
Even when the Chicago Bulls struggle, Caruso’s impact rarely is overlooked — even on the national stage.
Caruso was the only Bulls player mentioned on this year’s NBA general manager survey — he was tied for third-best perimeter defender and listed alongside eight others as the best overall defender in the league. His defensive acumen places him in the same conversation as Jrue Holiday and Draymond Green.
And that skill set lands him in trade-deadline conversations every season — after all, what championship contender wouldn’t want Caruso marshaling their team on defense?
It’s easy to track Caruso’s defensive impact. He averaged 1.5 steals, 0.7 blocks and 3.4 deflections in less than 24 minutes per game last season, finishing fifth in deflections and ninth in steals in the league despite coming off the bench for the majority of the season.
And an additional variable sets Caruso apart, less tangible in the numbers but visible to the eye in every play. Caruso never stops moving, feet always shifting and voice always audible. That hyperactive energy defines his presence on the court — and sets a standard for the Bulls.
“He just causes havoc out there,” guard Zach LaVine said. “If he’s out there diving on the floor, running through people, getting charges, it picks up everybody else’s energy too.”
At times, the intensity can be a hindrance for Caruso, who has had contact injuries directly resulting from overambitious attempts to block a shot or save a ball.
Coach Billy Donovan often is tasked with delivering a firm message to Caruso: “OK, that’s enough, it’s time to sit down.”
“I hate using the word reckless because it almost sounds like he’s out of control,” Donovan said. “But he completely has no regard for his body when he plays. He’ll take a charge. He’ll dive on the floor for a loose basketball. He’ll dive into the stands. He’s going 100 miles an hour, even in training camp.”
In the last two seasons, Caruso was determined to keep this strength from doubling as a deterrent to staying on the court.
Caruso didn’t feel he played well enough to earn All-Defense honors during his four seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he averaged less than 20 minutes per game. During his first year in Chicago, injuries kept him off the court for a half-season, which ultimately was a disqualifying factor.
As Caruso put it simply: “You’ve got to play games.”
But last season Caruso felt he finally put it all together — he played 67 games, plugging in as point guard when the team needed him and anchoring the fifth-best defense in the NBA. That output is the standard for Caruso, who doesn’t plan on being left off an All-Defensive team again.
Defense always has been a defining factor for Caruso. He took defensive drills a little too seriously and found joy in bothering opponents as a youth player. He separated himself as a defender in high school at A&M Consolidated in College Station, Texas, where he got his first taste of a denial defense and began to hunt steals on the wings.
Those same instincts developed from the NCAA to the G League to the NBA. He still manages to stay one step ahead of opponents.
“That’s where I get them — reading the game, seeing a tell and feeling the flow of it,” Caruso said.
Caruso still aims to improve his defense at the margins. His main goal is to reduce his fouls (2.4 per game last season) without losing an edge on defensive pressure.
“There comes a time where that’s inevitable just because of the way the game is called and the way that the product of the NBA is presented,” Caruso said. “Obviously you can’t touch guys and that makes it hard to guard.”
But the most important role for Caruso this season will have nothing to do with his play.
The Bulls need a vocal leader. And for two seasons, Caruso has been that motivating factor — the player who sets the tone for accountability in the locker room.
DeMar DeRozan described Caruso as the “politician” of the team, monitoring mistakes throughout practice and picking his moments to pull teammates aside.
“Whenever he sees someone lacking or not going as hard as they should or making a mistake or letting something slide, he’s jumping on it right away, holding everybody accountable,” DeRozan said.
Caruso had to grow into that leadership role during his early years in the league, especially as a bench player who wasn’t seen as the automatic alpha. But in Chicago, he cherishes that role. Caruso rarely sits during a game even during his minutes on the bench, standing at attention as he points out plays and hollers advice for defensive positioning.
LaVine and DeRozan acknowledged that Caruso can command respect — and demand an attention to detail — due to the standard he sets with his effort. And Caruso is wary to walk the line of what works for each teammate.
“I’m 29 and a half, I’ve had so many years on the basketball court with so many different teammates, trial and error learning how to push different buttons for certain guys,” Caruso said. “You learn how they need their motivation, whether it’s a guy that you can borderline cuss out or a guy that needs to be pulled aside and talk to you to correct. It’s just learning your teammates, learning what they respond to and how that can work for them.”
Caruso knows the Bulls will need even more from him as a leader as the team desperately seeks an extra edge to compete more consistently in the Eastern Conference.
But ultimately he plans to stick to the same mentality that earned him respect as a defender. If he sets the standard through his defensive work, the rest of the Bulls will follow.
