Bulls about to get defensive with guard Alex Caruso on his way back

Caruso finally tested out of the health and safety protocols, getting work in on Monday. While his minutes will still be a question, as long as there are no setbacks he will play Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Bulls still won’t be getting whole this week, but they will likely be getting the heart of their defensive back.

According to coach Billy Donovan, Alex Caruso finally tested out of the NBA’s coronavirus health and safety protocols, and could be back Wednesday, when the Bulls host the up-and-coming Cavaliers.

What will have to be determined leading up to that game will be a plan for minutes, especially considering how long Caruso has been in and out of the lineup since Dec. 4, when he first tweaked a hamstring and started a spiral of missed time.

“He did some work [Monday], he’ll do some work [Tuesday], and probably make some kind of assessment then at that point before the Cleveland game,’’ Donovan said of Caruso. “I think the bigger issue I don’t know the answer to right now is what are his minutes going to look like when he does come back? Because he really has not played since, maybe around – he’s played a game here and there, but he’s really been out since Dec. 4, and he had that hamstring in Brooklyn that kind of held him out, then he came back and played against the Lakers, kind of got that mid-foot sprain against Houston, and then came back and was ready to go and got Covid, so there really hasn’t been consistency for him.

“This has almost been like a six-week thing for him where he’s been in and out, so we’ll have to have a plan for him if he is able to physically play Wednesday, and what his minutes will look like to help him get back to what he was. I don’t know what that looks like. I really haven’t had a chance to talk to him about that.’’

As far as the Bulls getting all of their defensive “dawgs’’ back? That will have to wait.

Lonzo Ball was still bothered by a sore knee, and the team decided to have him fly home before the game with the Grizzlies so that he could see team doctors and make sure it was nothing serious.

And while Javonte Green started working out with the Windy City Bulls, his injured groin wasn’t quite cooperating like the team hoped.

“The challenge with [Green] – just talking to the medical guys – there are still some things that he’s doing movement-wise that he can still feel [the injury], they’re still there a little bit,’’ Donovan said. “They obviously push him to a point, and then they pull back. The problem for him is when we’ve really got him ramped up a little bit more, especially laterally, there’s been some things he feels. Not to say that he’s set himself back, I don’t mean to say that. When you’re still feeling that they’re going to pull back how hard they’re pushing. Trying to get some opportunities where he could be playing against contact will be helpful.’’

Donovan already called Green very doubtful for Wednesday.

Hill-topper

For a guy that had just a few hours to get acclimated with the Bulls system, Malcolm Hill impressed Donovan in his debut in the Boston loss, playing 18 minutes. Enough so that Donovan leaned on him off the bench yet again in the game with the Grizzlies.

“He’s been great as a guy,’’ Donovan said of the former Illini forward. “We’ve been really fortunate. I think [general manager] Marc [Eversley] and [executive vice president of basketball operations] Arturas [Karnisovas] have done a great job, not only brining in quality players, but they’ve been brought in guys that fit very well inside our team.’’

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