Alex Caruso is currently in the NBA's concussion protocol, leaving his status for a do-or-die Game 5 in Milwaukee on Wednesday uncertain, Chicago Bulls' head coach Billy Donovan told reporters on Monday.
"It's probably gonna be a day-to-day thing with him," Donovan said of Caruso. "He's obviously going to have to go through a series of tests before he's cleared. I don't know how long that would take and how long it would take for his symptoms to go away... We'll find out more on Tuesday."
The injury stems from Caruso taking an inadvertent shot to the face from Bucks guard Jevon Carter in the second quarter of Game 4 in Chicago, which the Bulls lost 119-95 to fall behind 3-1 in their best-of-seven first-round series. Caruso retreated to the locker room to receive treatment for a bloody nose and did not return to the contest.
"It wasn't really necessarily a flagrant play at all," Donovan said of the play after the game. "I'm sure he (Caruso) got his head jarred back, he just got caught up in a screen there going for the ball and he got hit pretty good."
Ayo Dosunmu started the second half of Game 4 in Caruso's place and eventually logged 29 minutes. Expect more of Dosunmu and Coby White if Caruso is indeed ruled out for Game 5.
It's not the first time this season Caruso has suffered an injury against the Bucks. Back in January, he fractured his wrist after being flagrant-fouled by Bucks guard Grayson Allen, which led to a seven-week absence. Shortly after returning from that injury, Caruso began to suffer discomfort in his back, which cost him the last three games of the regular season.
After a week-long break between the end of the regular season and beginning of the playoffs, Caruso appeared back to his 100 percent self in the first three games of the Bucks series, wreaking defensive havoc and shooting 41.2 percent from 3-point range. Now, the Bulls await further word on his status.
