The Milwaukee Bucks' "Good morning" made the Chicago Bulls feel particularly angry.
On Jan. 22, the Bulls lost 90-94 to the Bucks, during which Bulls guard Alex Caruso was fouled by Bucks guard Grayson Allen, and the referee then ruled that Allen had a second-degree malicious foul and directly expelled him.
On the 23rd, the bull officially announced that Caruso's right wrist fracture will be treated surgically at the beginning of next week. On this day, the Bucks official Twitter account greeting copy under the Aaron as a picture, this riot operation let Chicagoans think? The blunt Bulls official direct comment replied: "Seriously??? ”
With 5 minutes and 45 seconds left in the third quarter of the game, Caruso made a quick layup, Arun hooked Caruso's right arm and knocked Caruso straight down, and Caruso's right wrist fell heavily on the ground when he landed.
"This foul is ridiculous." Caruso said, "This guy just pulled me down in the air, I don't know what else you can do about it, I'm glad I didn't get a terrible serious injury right away." ”
Caruso said his wrist was "a little injured" after the game, but the X-ray was negative at the time. On further examination, Caruso was fractured. You must know that he has just returned on January 20, and he has only played two games and is injured again and has to undergo surgery, even if Caruso is really an "iron man", he can't stand the crime of being stabbed continuously.
Bucks forward Chris Middleton stressed after the game that it was nothing more than a tough foul and that he wasn't hoping for Caruso to get injured.
Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer also excused Grayson Allen, believing Aaron didn't do it on purpose. "In this race, there are a few things that happen that are unfortunate. I knew Caruso would be absent for a while, and I felt bad for him. I don't want any of our opponents to suffer from anything like this, it's not intentional. "Grayson has done a great job for us, and everyone can feel it." By understanding what the dressing room knows about a guy, you can basically get to know the person. This is the unfortunate part of the competition, and I hope that the bulls will return to their full health as soon as possible and look forward to competing with them again. ”
With the Bucks' attitude plus the Bucks' official Twitter account, the Bulls are unlikely to let the matter end. In addition to the victim Caruso, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan was also very unhappy with Arun's behavior. Donovan is usually gentle and rarely criticizes players by name, but after the Bulls and Bucks game, Donovan was angry at Allen's malicious foul, and he unabashedly criticized: "When Caruso was in the air, Arun stopped him like that, he may suffer a career-ending injury." Later, Donovan added: "He has a previous conviction for doing so." It's really too dangerous for me. I want the league to take a good look at situations like this, because that could really, really hurt him very, very badly. ”
Caruso's agent, Greg Lawrence, called Aaron's foul a "despicable tactic" in a statement to ESPN on Saturday local time. Lawrence wrote: "I hope the league will consider not only the dangerous, unnecessary and dirty action that caused Caruso's serious injury, but also the foul player's own history." It was a despicable act against an airborne, unsuspecting player who caused him to fracture his bones and needed surgical repairs, which would have left Caruso out of at least two months of play. ”
"I want the league to add a penalty and send a clear message about it, which is that what happened to Caruso and the Bulls in the NBA shouldn't exist."
The matter has attracted the league's attention, and according to Vincent Goodwill, the league office is retriing Grayson Allen's second-degree malicious foul on Caruso, according to a source. Whether to impose an additional ban is still in place.
Caruso's injured wrist plagued him in the second half, especially when shooting. He scored just three points on 1-of-6 shooting in the second half and lost all four in the fourth quarter. Caruso also added that Allen did not come to see him after the game.
Maybe Aaron didn't blame himself or feel guilty at all. NBC Sports Chicago announcers Adam Amin and Stacy King blamed Aaron on the broadcast because he still had a smile on his face as he left the game.
It was the first time Allen had been deported for a malicious foul this season and the second of his NBA career. In the 2019 Summer League, he was banished for two consecutive fouls in a matter of seconds. As Donovan mentioned, Allen is a player with a previous conviction. But his "criminal record" was concentrated not in the NBA but during his college years.
From the time Grayson Allen played for the NCAA Duke Blues, he suffered malicious fouls for repeatedly tripping over other players. Before the 2018 draft, he was known as "the dirtiest guy in the NCAA." He has deliberately tripped his opponent twice in a month, drawing collective accusations from fans across the United States.
On Feb. 8, 2016, Allen was criticised by fans for deliberately tripping Raymond Spalding of Louisville. Later, on Feb. 25, during a major match between Duke University and Florida, Allen dropped his foot on rival Larson. The next day, he received a warning from the League.
This time, he provoked the wrath of the crowd.
As if these two were not enough, on December 21, 2016, the "Elon Incident" occurred. In the match against Elon University, Arun once again stretched out his black foot! Coach K announced an indefinite ban and stripped him of his captain's armband.
In the 2018 ACC semifinals, Duke and North Carolina met. In a defensive quick attack, Allen toppled his opponent in a way that he himself called a "hip check" . Once again, he was known throughout the United States for his criminals.
Aaron was very white-looking, and if he passed by on a college campus, he might be considered a literary youth. However, once he put on Duke's shirt and stood on the court, he seemed to become a different person. The Duke basketball team's nickname is the "Blue Devils," and Allen is the "White Devil" on this team.
In college, Aaron was still a full-fledged academic bully. He completed five courses in corporate finance, oral history, Spanish, sports psychology, and cultural anthropology in four years at Duke University, and graduated from Duke University in May 2018.
After entering the NBA, Allen did restrain a lot, and this malicious foul reminded people of the old saying: the country is easy to change, and the nature is difficult to move.
At the same time as Caruso's injury, Bulls officials also announced that team point guard Lonzo Ball would undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee because of a slight tear on the meniscus in his left knee, and is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. Within days, the Bulls lost their organizational core and defensive backbone due to injuries.
The Bulls were able to top the Top 1 in the East this year, and while despite deMar DeRozan's superstar performances, they were also indispensable to ball and Caruso, who provided the ability to defend, project and organize the attack to give the Bulls a long-awaited taste of winning.
What surprised the bulls the most about the strong start was their solid defense. According to the NBA's official website, before Christmas, the Bulls still ranked in the top ten in the league in terms of defensive rate, ranking ninth with 107.5 points allowed per 100 rounds. The next day, Ball triggered a health and safety agreement, missing the next five games. Shortly after his return, Caruso also triggered the agreement.
The two men's absences had a huge impact on the Bulls' defense. Since Dec. 26, the Bulls have scored 113.9 points per 100 possessions, ranking 22nd in the NBA. During this time, they are still in the top ten offensively, relying on DeRozan's superstar performance in key moments, they have achieved a record of 9 wins and 6 losses.
How important is Caruso to bulls? The data also shows that when Caruso plays as a substitute, the Bulls defense can score 10.7 points per 100 rounds, which is the third largest gap among players who have played at least 600 minutes this season.
In addition to the special contributions of Ball and Caruso, the Bulls' injury list is also long enough. The Bulls' backcourt core, Zach Lavin, who has been affected by a knee injury, continues to miss the game and returns as soon as next Thursday. Patrick Williams has been absent since undergoing wrist surgery, and the two men who replaced him for playing time, Jarvent Green and Derrick Jones Jr., have also been injured.
At present, the Brooklyn Nets have surpassed the Bulls with a record of 29 wins and 16 losses, and have once again become the leaders of the East. Halfway through the regular season, every next game is important for the top-ranked Eastern Conference teams. Every win or loss between the top six teams in the East has the potential to affect playoff standings, injuries have hit the Bulls, and their road to revival hasn't been as smooth as they thought at the start of the season.