The Chicago Bulls are facing a tough stretch of games after Alex Caruso underwent surgery on his fractured right wrist. He is out for six to eight weeks. Caruso was averaging 4.8 points per game on 42% shooting before the injury. He came off the bench to replace Kris Dunn who has been on IR since December 14th with a concussion and will likely be brought back slowly as he has missed several weeks.
With that being said, the Bulls have started Cameron Payne at point guard since day one so there is no need to rush Dunn back onto the court. Currently, they are riding high having won seven of their last ten games but there are some challenging matchups coming up against squads like the Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics, and New York Knicks.
If you’re a Bulls fan, one has to wonder if they can keep their momentum throughout the rest of January despite having Payne as starter now.
Lauri Markkanen is expected to absorb most of Caruso’s minutes on the court until Dunn makes his return so fantasy owners should start him with confidence in all formats. Coach Fred Hoiberg has also mentioned that he would like to give Denzel Valentine more playing time but hasn’t had many minutes for him lately either. This year he hasn’t done much other than hit three pointers at an average rate but it’s hard to see them finding many minutes for him now either although he could be worth stashing in deeper leagues just because there are few options on the Bulls bench that will see the floor.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Alex and his family during this difficult time,” said Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson. “We know how hard he worked to make our roster and we wish him well as he begins his recovery. We will provide any support that we can to help him through this process.” says Anderson .
Paxson: “It’s a really tough blow. We were excited to have him as part of our group moving forward.”
Caruso has been sidelined since Oct. 13 due to his injury and had appeared in one preseason game for the Bulls, scoring four points and grabbing five rebounds in just under 16 minutes of action against the Detroit Pistons.
