Billy Donovan couldn’t provide an updated timetable for Alex Caruso to return from his broken right wrist, but the Bulls coach could at least identify the next important step.
Since Caruso was all but tackled by Milwaukee’s Grayson Allen in a Jan. 21 loss and suffered the injury, he was able to start his conditioning up pretty quickly after surgery.
Now it’s time for a little basketball activity, according to Donovan.
“I know it was a break,’’ Donovan said on Wednesday, when first asked if he knew the details of what Caruso had repaired. “He’s doing well. He’s on the floor doing total conditioning and running. He’s not able to lift. There will be a point where I think in maybe a week to 10 days he can start dribbling and shooting. He’s not at that level yet, but he’s at the level where he can do a lot of physical training running-wise, so I don’t know the extent of what the whole procedure was other than he broke it and they went in there and repaired it.’’
The original diagnosis for Caruso was six-to-eight weeks before he would be re-evaluated. He’s over three weeks into that timeframe, so that puts him on track to get the wrist looked at once again during that second week of March.
The fact that he’s able to start shooting soon, however, was a good sign that the best defender on the team was on the mend.
As long as there are no setbacks in the evaluation, the hope is that Caruso could have a mid-March return, giving him possibly 12-15 regular-season games to find his rhythm and get re-acclimated to his significant role he carries for the team.
What could really be interesting is if Caruso can get back by Mar. 22, when the Bulls travel up to Milwaukee for their third meeting of the season. The Bulls and Bucks then close the season series Apr. 5, with the Bulls hosting the division rivals at the United Center.
Connection
There’s a reason why rookie Ayo Dosunmu and veteran Nikola Vucevic have worked so well together since Dosunmu took over the starting point guard duties.
Both are high-IQ players, but it’s more than that. Dosunmu is one of the more decisive guards on the team, and that works well with Vucevic.
“When [the guards] are decisive it helps Vooch make a decision whether to short roll, long roll to the rim, or to pop based on how he’s being covered,’’ Donovan said. “Ayo is aggressive. He’s a downhill player, he’s an attacker. So when he’s attacking I think Vooch can find spots. Now I think one of the things that our guards have to do a good job of is when they are decisive and they are going downhill, they have to recognize is their man pursuing in pick-and-roll? Is Vooch’s man playing it? Do I have two on the ball? Does the ball need to be thrown back?’’
Cheat code
A big reason why DeMar DeRozan seems to be playing with so much confidence this season? Donovan has provided a very free environment for the veteran to utilize his strengths.
“It’s not just points,’’ DeRozan said. “I think it’s for me the comfort of being the player that I am in my 13th year. The confidence. The feel. The teammates that I have. The organization. Just taking heed to that. That’s one thing that sits with me well. Not just the scoring. I’ve been a scorer. It’s being able to be free and play at a high level still.’’
