The Chicago Bulls missed the playoffs for the sixth time in eight seasons and for the second consecutive time. The last time the Bulls made the playoffs was during the 2021-22 season when they lost in the first round to the Milwaukee Bucks. The coaching staff underwent a few changes in recent days as the team hopes for better fortunes next season. And this week, the Bulls got the news that Alex Caruso had been selected to the NBA's All-Defense Second Team.
It's a solid honor for Caruso who has developed into the one of the league's premier defensive players. But Caruso couldn't help but deliver a witty remark when he observed the differences between the first team and the second team.
“So all the guards..got it.” Caruso remarked with a string of emojis. There's no question that the voters certainly value big men over wings and guards when it comes to the All-Defensive teams.
Out of the five players on the All-Defense First Team, only one of them was not a big man and that was New Orleans Pelicans wing Herbert Jones. The rest of the first team was comprised of the Defensive Player of the Year and Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, the Los Angeles Lakers' Anthony Davis, the San Antonio Spurs' Victor Wembanyama and the Miami Heat's Bam Adebayo.
The All-Defense Second Team was comprised of Alex Caruso, the Wolves' Jaden McDaniels, the Boston Celtics' Jrue Holiday and Derrick White and the Orlando Magic's Jalen Suggs. This season, the voting shifted to a positionless vote.
Alex Caruso is the Bulls premier defensive player
One of the reasons why big men seem to have an advantage with the voters when it comes to the All-Defensive teams is that centers have traditionally been the anchor of a team's defense. But in certain occasions, a wing or a guard can actually be a team's defensive anchor.
That certainly is the case for the Bulls with Alex Caruso. Caruso is the team's best defensive player and he sets the tone on that end. Caruso's rise has been one of the most intriguing and fun storylines of the past few seasons. He was originally undrafted and got his start on a two-way contract with the Lakers while spending most of his time in the G League.
After having his contract ultimately converted to a standard deal, he played an important role on the Lakers 2020 championship team. But following the 2020-21 season, the Lakers opted not to re-sign him and instead let him walk in free agency to the Bulls.
Since then, Caruso is now a two-time All-Defense selection having been named to the first team last season. He was also the recipient of the NBA's Hustle Award this season.
Caruso appeared in 71 games for the Bulls, including 57 starts, at a little over 28 minutes of play. He averaged a career-high 10.1 points per game, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.0 blocked shots with splits of 46.8 percent shooting from the field, 40.8 percent shooting from the three point line and 76 percent shooting from the free throw line.
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