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Alex Caruso sits out game vs. the Atlanta Hawks due to a sore foot

The Bulls missed their defensive stalwart against the Hawks.

Stephen Beslic

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The Chicago Bulls missed their defensive stalwart, Alex Caruso, on Monday as he sat out the game against the Atlanta Hawks because of a sore left foot. The veteran guard tried to push past the pain at shootaround, but the team’s medical staff erred on the side of caution, electing to give Caruso the night off.

It’s that time of the year

Caruso had his left foot stepped on numerous times in their previous game against the Orlando Magic, resulting in soreness. Chicago is already dealing with injuries to several key guys, like Zach LaVine—who is out for the season after undergoing foot surgery—and Patrick Williams, who doesn’t have a timeline for a return due to an injured foot, and the last thing they need is for Caruso to aggravate his injury further.

“This time of year, everybody knows what it is,” Caruso said.

“The NBA has been around for 70-some years [77], and everyone knows that games 45 to 60 are the dog days. That’s just as much a mental battle as a physical battle.”

Caruso’s absence means Bulls head coach Billy Donovan may have to give minutes to some of the team’s young studs, like Dalen Terry and Julian Phillips. However, given those players' proclivity for fouling, Donovan shared his apprehension about doing that.

“The biggest issue for both of those guys that they have to continue to work at is the discipline of not fouling. There’s times they are fouling on plays, and there’s no need to foul,” Donovan explained.

Hoping to return to the floor ASAP

The Bulls don’t have much luck winning games whenever Caruso is on the sidelines, amassing a 1-5 record in those games. With the Bulls chasing a spot in the postseason, Caruso hopes to return to the court as soon as possible and help his team secure some much-needed wins. For now, the tenacious guard encourages his teammates to stay locked in and ready to compete without him.

“I think it’s about us staying locked in, no matter who can go that night [and] who can’t,” Caruso said.

“We’ve done a better job playing to an identity, and we’re trending in the right direction of what you have to do to try and win games.”

Chicago Bulls pull away in the fourth quarter to take down the Atlanta Hawks, 136-126

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Stephen Beslic
STEPHEN BESLIC

Stephen Beslic is a writer on Sports Illustrated's FanNation Network. Stephen played basketball from the age of 10 and graduated from Faculty of Economic and Business in Zagreb, Croatia, majoring in Marketing.

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