It’s way too early for a nickname.
Not that Alex Caruso is against the idea, but the Bulls guard is old school: Nicknames are earned, not just handed out.
And what it will take to earn that nickname? Equity that involves sweat, chaos and mayhem.
“We first saw that a little bit during training camp,’’ Caruso said of the second unit for the Bulls. “It was the first few days, and it was me, JC (Jevon Carter), Torrey (Craig), Ayo (Dosunmu), and Drum (Andre Drummond). There were drills set up and some structure to it, but we definitely had guys running around, flying around, getting deflections, causing some problems.’’
A look that was impressive enough that coach Billy Donovan also unleashed it against Milwaukee on Sunday.
With 3:06 left in the first quarter against the Bucks and Craig already in the game, Donovan put in Caruso, Dosunmu, Drummond and Carter. There was a Caruso steal, some solid closeouts on Milwaukee shot attempts, and even a few flashes that they can be efficient on offense.
It’s the latter that was the most important for Caruso, because if this second unit is to become a reality in the regular season, showing that they can score the ball will be a must.
“Yeah, I definitely think it can work, even in today’s NBA, as long as we’re efficient enough on offense,’’ Caruso said. “You just have to get the right shots, which I thought we did against Milwaukee. A lot of that will come from making sure you’re not taking the ball out of the net every time. With that lineup, I don’t think you would.’’
A solid point by Caruso, but still a hard sell with four preseason games left.
Since arriving on the scene in 2020, Donovan has leaned on a nine-man rotation, especially the last few seasons with this current core. That’s meant using one of his primary scorers – DeMar DeRozan in most cases last season — to stagger with the reserves, making sure there’s been a proven shot maker in the mix.
Donovan has explained that several times since training camp started.
“Going with 10 (players) means Vooch (Nikola Vucevic), Zach (LaVine) and DeMar are only on the floor together,’’ Donovan said. “If you start staggering a starter into the second unit, you’re really putting yourself into playing nine. If you do play that 10th (guy) those minutes could be anywhere from only six to eight.’’
What Donovan is still asking himself is, “Do we really have a true second unit? Is it beneficial for us.’’
Two questions that will continue to have to be answered in this journey.
“You can press with those guys, which I always enjoy doing on dead balls,’’ Donovan said of his defensive-minded reserve group. “We’re going to keep looking at it, so it’s like, ‘Let’s look at 10 guys.’ And listen, even if you do it on a particular night and it looks great, I don’t know if you can define it. But it’s a thing we definitely need to experiment with.’’
Which is all a player like Craig can ask for. Craig has played in 75 playoff games since the 2018-19 season. The common thread the better teams have had? Toughness and players willing to do the dirty work, usually coming off the bench.
“It comes with wanting more and wanting to win at a high level,’’ Craig said. “Not being OK to win a certain number of games, or 40 games or whatever, but wanting to win every time you play and knowing you are giving your all and giving yourself a chance to win.’’
A mentality Caruso, Dosunmu, Carter, Drummond and Craig all share.
But a nickname?
“Nah, too early,’’ Caruso said. “We gotta get in some real games and prove ourselves before we get into the nicknames.’’
