DeMar DeRozan? Zach LaVine? No, Alex Caruso is the sole representative of the Bulls in the Team USA pre-selection for Paris 2024 revealed earlier in the week. Like a handful of other “role players” (Bobby Portis, Josh Hart, Duncan Robinson, etc.), the Chicago guard managed to slip into the middle of a galaxy of league stars.
“ It's really cool. This is a new stage in my career, in what I have been able to accomplish. I hope I will be lucky enough to be selected to go there. It would be an even greater accomplishment and a more exciting adventure “, reacts the 29-year-old playerwho knows Paris a little having come there during the 2022 offseason and with the Bulls against the Pistons last year.
Getting closer to ten points each evening this season, his best career average, the “Bald Mamba” knows that he would owe a possible selection to other qualities: “ Over the last two years, I've built a good resume as one of, if not the world's, best defenders in the NBA. I think that carries a lot of weight. Defense is clearly one of the main reasons I made the roster. »
This impact on this side of the field would carve out a role for him if he were to be part of “ a team made up of All-Stars and All-NBA players “. “ I consider myself at this level and in the same mold in relation to what I do. So there will be no lack of confidence or character on my part if I am chosen to go to this team », Warns the 2020 NBA champion with the Lakers.
Billy Donovan approves
To see how the leaders will imagine this training by trying to find different balances, between the young generation and those who are approaching the end, those who wore the jersey during the last World Cup or more formerly, and the right mix between stars and players useful to the collective.
Billy Donovan, who has ties to the federation, thinks his player would do the trick. Steve Kerr inquired with him last summer about Alex Caruso.
“ I don't need to try to be someone I'm not. They recognize the things I do well, which usually has to do with winning. And that's the goal of this tournament. Having a team that can score, but also play winning basketball, defending, doing the little things, winning possessions are things I excel at. », Judges the non-drafted player who has definitely been full of confidence.
If selected, he will be able to ask for some tips from his teammates (if they are not transferred by then…) who have already put on the American jersey. Including DeMar DeRozan who, this year, was not invited: “ Nobody asked me anything. I'm curious how they did it. But everything is fine. I am happy for those who are selected. If I had been asked, I certainly would have been part of it. But being there in 2014 and 2016 was clearly an honor. »
| Alex Caruso | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2017-18 | LAL | 37 | 15 | 43.1 | 30.2 | 70.0 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 3.6 |
| 2018-19 | LAL | 25 | 21 | 44.5 | 48.0 | 79.7 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 0.4 | 9.2 |
| 2019-20 | LAL | 64 | 18 | 41.2 | 33.3 | 73.4 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 5.5 |
| 2020-21 | LAL | 58 | 21 | 43.6 | 40.1 | 64.5 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 6.4 |
| 2021-22 | CHI | 41 | 28 | 39.8 | 33.3 | 79.5 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 7.4 |
| 2022-23 | CHI | 67 | 24 | 45.5 | 36.4 | 80.8 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 5.6 |
| 2023-24 | CHI | 38 | 26 | 49.1 | 42.0 | 76.8 | 1.0 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 9.9 |
| Total | 330 | 22 | 43.9 | 37.6 | 75.1 | 0.6 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 6.5 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
