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Tristan Thompson is looking forward to a “chippy” game against the Bulls’ newest enemy, Grayson Allen, when Chicago hosts the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night.
Bulls fans have had this game circled on their calendar since Allen was hit with a flagrant foul for throwing Bulls point guard Alex Caruso to the floor. Caruso fractured his right wrist on the play in the loss to Milwaukee and has been sidelined since.
“Sh-t. Take one of my dogs out like that, we’re gonna have issues,” Thompson said Thursday when asked about the Bulls-Bucks matchup.
“You gotta set the tone. That’s what Bulls basketball is about, setting the tone. What he did affected one of our guys, and I don’t think anyone should forget about that. So I’m pretty sure the United Center is gonna be rocking [Friday],” Thompson said. “I think guys have [it] in the back of their head. And if guys wanna play chippy, let’s play chippy. I like it. I like a little blood and sweat, so I enjoy it.”
In the 94-90 loss to the Bucks, Caruso drove to the basket in the third quarter and collided with Allen, who took a hard swat at him. Caruso crashed to the ground, smashing his right wrist on the floor. Allen was booed heavily.
Allen, who has a history of dirty plays dating back to his college days at Duke, was ejected from the game and was later suspended one game.
Twitter critics have already capitalized on the opportunity to roast Thompson over his comments, as the center wasn’t even on the Bulls roster when the Allen incident occurred on Jan. 21. He was with the Kings at the time.
“Why is Tristan Thompson mad about something that happened before he was on the Bulls,” one tweet read.
However, Thompson’s comments can be seen as a sign that he’s fitting in nicely with the Bulls after joining the team just two weeks ago. The Bulls announced his signing on Feb. 19, after he was waived by the Pacers, who acquired the big man from the Kings at the Feb. 10 trade deadline.
The Bulls (39-24) have slipped to third in the Eastern Conference since Caruso went down, going 10-9 during the stretch, which includes losses in each of their last three games. But the historically good play of leading scorer DeMar DeRozan has helped keep the Bulls afloat.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan said on Feb. 16 that Caruso was expected to be cleared to resume dribbling and shooting drills in the next seven to 10 days.
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