“We try to live up to Alex Caruso’s standards”: DeMar DeRozan applauds his Bulls teammate and former Laker for his incredible basketball IQ and energy levels

DeMar DeRozan believes that Alex Caruso is the tone-setter for the Chicago Bulls this year, noting that the rest of them are following his lead.

Alex Caruso leads the league in steals despite playing under 30 minutes a night this year. This stat alone is a great snapshot of the Texas A&M guard’s influence on the Chicago Bulls this year.

The NBA’s leader in steals per game:@ACFresh21 🔥

(h/t NBAKefka/Reddit) pic.twitter.com/TS8o4tqHVR

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 3, 2021

You could’ve dismissed the ‘Bald Mamba’ as a meme during his first trial by fire in the NBA. He was, after all, undrafted and worked his way into the league through the G-League.

Caruso displayed all of those intangibles in the development league so well that Luke Walton promoted him to the squad in 2017-18. He proceeded to become one of the Lakers’ signature role players in the years to come.

Their mantra through the Frank Vogel years was to defend the point of attack by putting pressure relentlessly. Both Alex Caruso and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope were integral to this scheme. Losing them has been huge for a Lakers defense that is considerably worse this year.

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DeMar DeRozan applauds Alex Caruso for his incredible basketball IQ and energy levels

At the same time, signing Alex Caruso for a 4-year, $32 million deal might prove to be one of the best moves by the Bulls front office in recent memory. DeMar DeRozan expressed the same sentiment while speaking to Bulls beat writer Darnell Marberry:

“He’s a dog, man. It’s times we look at the stat sheet after the game and it’s like four or five steals. Just the energy that he brings defensively triggers us because we try to live up to the standards that Alex is going to bring out there on the court. And it’s big. It’s exciting to see. It’s incredible the things that he does defensively.”

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DeMar couldn’t have put this more plainly than he did. Most NBA fans believe Alex Caruso is genuinely a top-3 perimeter defender across the league, and with good reason.

The Chicago Bulls will look to draw on his championship DNA more and more as the season progresses.