The Chicago Bulls swept over the Atlanta Hawks in a dominant 131-116 victory tonight. With the win, they secured a matchup with the Miami Heat for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. And hopefully, a first-round clash with the Boston Celtics. Given that the Heat narrowly lost to the Philadelphia 76ers at 104-105, it’s not going to be a straightforward game. Miami is definitely going to bring in the heat.

And under such circumstances, it seems like Chicago could miss their guard. NBA Insider Adrian Wojnarowski tweeted the unfortunate news. “Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso has a “significant” left ankle sprain and his availability vs. Miami on Friday with the 8th-seed on the line is in doubt, a source tells ESPN. Andre Drummond stepped on foot vs. Hawks in Play-In victory tonight.”

The Texas native suffered the injury in the second quarter when center Andre Drummond came back up on the floor on defense. He crashed into Caruso and ran over him, unable to stop his run. The 30-year-old fell down hard and held his left foot in obvious pain. Alex immediately left for the locker room to get it checked out.

Although he returned in the third quarter, it was simply clear that he was in a lot of pain. Without wasting any time, Alex Caruso left the court for good. And according to Woj, his left ankle sprain is significant enough to label him doubtful against Miami.

Alex Caruso maintains his intention to play against the Heat

Post-game, Caruso mentioned that Drummond’s hit tweaked the same ankle he’s been dealing with in the last few weeks of the season. Both Alex Caruso and the team were still figuring out how to deal with the injury properly without affecting his play when tonight had happened. But that doesn’t affect his goal in the slightest.

“I do (expect to play) until I can’t … My mindset is to play until my body tells me that I can’t,” he reiterated his resolve after the game. Caruso has been nothing short of a crucial piece in the Bulls defense. His incredible resilience throughout his career is why the Bulls fans love him. But even more importantly, Alex Caruso is the guy who does all those little things that do not come up in the metrics, but without which Chicago wouldn’t be what it is.

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But none of it came easy to the man. Ahead of tonight’s matchup, he explained why he’s good at what he does to Sam Smith of Bulls.com. “I don’t have enough talent to just carry me. I have to play with effort, I have to play with detail and a competitive spirit that’s better than everybody else… So if they want to take the night off they can, but I’m going to show up and play hard.”

But without coach Donovan and the medical team’s go-ahead, the chances of him suiting up are unlikely. Not for the lack of trying, mind you. But hopefully, Bulls fans can see a shining, bald head in the Kaseya Center on Friday.