© Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Alex Caruso says his clutch strip of Anfernee Simons was a pretty 'routine' play for him
Up three with only seconds left in the game, Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso was in a tough position: He had to guard the Portland Trail Blazers’ explosive guard Anfernee Simons. Aware of the score and time, Caruso knew Simons was going for a potential game-tying triple as time wound down in the exciting ballgame.
At the time, Caruso said he had two choices: intentionally foul to avoid Simons getting off a game-tying trey or play solid defense and let the chips fall where they may. He chose the latter, and it paid off in a big way.
A routine play
Caruso is an All-Defensive First Team member so the Bulls couldn’t have asked for a better defender guarding Simons. The former Texas A&M star was draped all over the Blazers’ guard, who used his quickness to get by Caruso. But in typical Caruso fashion, he never gave up on the play and stayed in step with Simons.
“Once he really didn’t break for the ball in the backcourt, I knew that they were going to run some type of play where they threw it to somebody to try and get him on the run and hit him again,” Caruso shared.
“Up three with that much time left, you look to foul. Came across half, I didn’t like the look to foul because he was squared to the basket and kind of looked like he was getting ready to shoot. And then just instincts took over, you know, once I saw he was shooting it. That’s a pretty routine play for me to be able to strip a guy as long as I’m within the right distance so instincts trying to just take over.”
Worked on the move
Caruso's swipe down at the ball as Simons was shooting was a risky move. Had he miscalculated and fouled Simons, the latter likely would have canned all three free throws, seeing as he’s a 91 percent shooter from the line this season. But Caruso's instincts and quick reflexes paid off, as he successfully stripped Simons of the ball, denying the Blazers a shot at the game-tying triple.
“I wasn’t very good at it when I first got in the league,” Caruso shared.
“I fouled a lot. So I think part of that is, you know, learning how to play defense without fouling.”
