Alex Caruso and his Bulls teammates are all set to try to lock down Hawks

It wasn’t like Alex Caruso was giving away trade secrets.

The Bulls’ defensive-minded standout was asked who he would likely be assigned to once Wednesday’s play-in game with the Hawks tips off, and quickly insisted Trae Young.

And that’s also the beauty of Caruso and his game.He’ll likely start with Young, yes. After that, it’s basic-ally any Hawks scorer who needs to be locked down fast.

“I probably will change throughout the game, based on minutes, how they match up,” Caruso said. “And if anyone gets going, my ego will probably take over, and I’ll try to guard them.”

Caruso’s determination was just one of the reasons the Bulls were feeling pretty good about themselves Tuesday as they prepped for the win-or-go-home game between the 9 and 10 seeds in the Eastern Conference. And they don’t have just Caruso to throw at Young. In fact, they might also have guard Ayo Dosunmu, the former Illinois standout who was sidelined for the last four games of the regular season with an injured right quadriceps. He was seen running a full-contact scrimmage with reserves and player-development coaches as practice was wrapping up.

Caruso is a strong candidate for First-Team All-Defense after receiving the honor last season because of his versatility. But Dosunmu has specifically been a headache for Young. In the Bulls’ two games against the Hawks this season in which Young was healthy and playing, Young went a combined 9-for-31 from the field and 5-for-23 from three-point range with Dosunmu getting heavy minutes against him.

If the swelling in Dosunmu’s quad continued to go down overnight, he was likely to be cleared Wednesday, which would open up more options for coach Billy Donovan.

“It’s really just trying to be able to sprint at a top speed,” Dosunmu said. “That’s pretty much the last hurdle I’m trying to get over. I’m doing massages, different stretches, different mobility things, ice, [stimulation], heat, everything, just to try to move the bruise in that area and be able to get to a top sprint without discomfort.”

Center Andre Drummond did nothing Tuesday and is doubtful to play against the Hawks after additional swelling in his injured left ankle. The Bulls also announced that forward Onuralp Bitim would miss the rest of the season to have the detached retina in his right eye repaired. Getting Dosunmu back at full power would be a welcome boost for morale.

“Having another body would obviously be great,” Donovan said. “But I also know Ayo’s the kind of guy that if he was out there and it was detrimental to the team or just wasn’t able to do the things that he knows he’s capable of doing at the level he wants to do them, then it makes it hard. I think he’s worked really hard against Trae Young. But I think he’d probably tell you it’s taken 100% of him to do that.”

Not that the Bulls are overly concerned about being shorthanded, which has become almost their standard since 2021. Given what’s at stake, their mentality now is pressing ahead with what they’ve got.

“We’re getting ready to play a game for our lives,” Caruso said. “And I think we showed that competitive spirit and that atten-tion to detail [Sunday] against probably the hottest team in the league [the Knicks], or one of them, going into the postseason. So I think we are ready for the moment.

“There’s nothing that is too big for anybody on our team. We’ve played in big games throughout the year against good teams. A lot of these guys were on the team last year who played in the play-in. We’re ready for the moment. It’s just about showing up and playing.”