It would be easy for Billy Donovan to simply point towards the returns of Alex Caruso and Javonte Green as the instant cure for an inconsistent defense.
But in the mind of the Bulls coach, it would also be doing a complete disservice to the culture he’s been trying to instill with this entire group since fall camp.
The Bulls getting back to being a disruptive force on the defensive end of the floor has to be a total team commitment. That was reiterated on Tuesday.
“I think having Javonte out, having Alex out, certainly it hurts your defense,” Donovan said. “I’ve always said that when you lose good players, dealing with it there’s an impact. But I don’t want to sit there and say … that would be a tremendous responsibility on the defensive end to put it all on Javonte and/or Alex being out. We’ve got to do it with five guys on the court. I think we’re capable of being better.
“Certainly, Alex has been an elite defender for us, but it hasn’t always been him, it’s been our team as well. When we get him back he makes us better, Javonte makes us better. It’s the same way as when Vooch [Nikola Vucevic] went out, DeMar [DeRozan] went out, Zach [LaVine] went out, and a lot of these other guys went out. We’ll be a better team, as will everybody else across the league, when you’re completely healthy and clean.”
When that will happen for the Bulls was still up in the air.
Green (groin) was still a few weeks away, so that timetable hasn’t changed much, but Caruso’s situation remained day-to-day, and the hope is sooner than later. Especially with what’s coming for the Bulls this week.
Kyrie Irving and the Nets are in town on Wednesday night, and then the “Splash Brothers” – Steph Curry and Klay Thompson – are at the United Center on Friday. The more backcourt defenders the Bulls can throw at both teams, the better.
Caruso, however, still hadn’t tested out of the league’s coronavirus health and safety protocols, and once he does there’s the question of how quickly they can get him up and running from a conditioning standpoint.
“Generally with the testing we’re doing, we do it in the morning, but we don’t get the results until the following morning,” Donovan said. “So we’ll find out a lot more [Wednesday] morning, where his numbers are at.”
If he does test out that’s when a conditioning plan will be put in place.
“A lot has to do with the medical, the NBA, the player, and what were the symptoms like?” Donovan said. “How significant, how severe? Certainly with the number of games we have, if he got cleared in the middle of that, would he be able to play back-to-back? If he was would there be minutes restrictions? So we haven’t gotten that far yet.”
Shooters shoot
Guard Ayo Dosunmu entered the game with the Pistons shooting 54.1% from the field and 45.3% from three-point range. Both eye-opening numbers for a rookie. His secret?
“He’s taken the right shots,” Donovan explained. “When he’s been left open or there’s short closeouts, he’s shot it. When they’ve been up on him he’s tried to put the ball on the floor and gone by people. That’s the hardest thing, I would say for young players, is to know when to drive, when to pass.”