The Bulls announced on Saturday that Alex Caruso will need surgery after fracturing his right wrist on a Flagrant 2 foul from Bucks guard Grayson Allen.
Injury Update: Alex Caruso will undergo surgery early next week and be re-evaluated in 6-8 weeks after sustaining a fracture of his right wrist in last night’s game versus the Milwaukee Bucks.
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) January 22, 2022
Caruso was pushing the ball in transition in Chicago's game against Milwaukee on Friday night when Allen went up for a block and ripped Caruso's arm down.
Grayson Allen draws a flagrant 2 for a HARD foul on Alex Caruso pic.twitter.com/NjCJEzo7zu
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) January 22, 2022
Allen was automatically ejected from the game, and now Caruso is expected to miss 6-to-8 weeks because of the injury he suffered on the dirty play. This comes as a tough break for Caruso, who has played a major role as a lockdown defensive stopper for the Bulls this season.
The play also adds to a lengthy list of similar antics from the Bucks guard. Here's a look back at how Allen earned his dirty reputation.
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Timeline of Grayson Allen's dirty plays
For starters, Allen has a five-minute (!) compilation of dirty plays and moments on YouTube from his time at Duke. That alone shows there is a track record here.
It took several dirty plays for Duke to take action, but eventually, in 2016, Allen was suspended "indefinitely" after blatantly trying to trip an Elon player as he drove to the basket.
This was far from the first instance — it was his third tripping incident alone, actually — as he had already been caught tripping a player from Louisville the previous season. He also had a few other low-light moments, like throwing a random hip check on a fast break against North Carolina that resulted in a Flagrant 1 foul.
The shameful part is that Allen's "indefinite" suspension only lasted one game.
You can watch the full five-minute video below.
This trend wasn't squashed once he got to the NBA, though.
At the NBA's 2019 Summer League, Allen was ejected from a game after delivering not one, but two, flagrant fouls on Celtics forward Grant Williams.
Grayson Allen's first flagrant, for those asking pic.twitter.com/KO9vgPGaSX
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) July 12, 2019
It continued in 2020 when Allen and Hawks star guard Trae Young had a back-and-forth exchange on Twitter over a play that Young deemed as dirty.
Damn... tell me what y’all see!! Smh🤦🏽♂️ this gotta stop.! #ifyoudontknownowyouknow pic.twitter.com/AgrPR1qRze
— Trae Young (@TheTraeYoung) December 27, 2020
Allen didn't seem to agree with Young's assessment.
Damn that must’ve really really hurt. I’m sorry. I hope you’re okay https://t.co/Uwyl7s2Q2v
— Grayson Allen (@GraysonJAllen) December 27, 2020
Allen did not have a chance to address his most recent incident postgame, but Caruso shared his thoughts with the media after the game.
"Dude just kind of grabbed me out of the air. It was kind of bulls—," the Bulls guard said.
Caruso says Grayson Allen foul was “bulls**t” pic.twitter.com/d9s0Z2VEVB
— Bulls Talk (@NBCSBulls) January 22, 2022
On Saturday, Allen responded via Discord, saying "it was very unfortunate how it played out. I jumped to block it with my left and as I’m spinning went to grab the ball with my right hand not throw him down. It was a really hard fall and I’m glad he’s okay. If I could do the play over again knowing he’d fall like that I wouldn’t make the play."
Allen also responded to criticism from former NBA player and current ESPN Richard Jefferson, saying "I stood at half court watching till he got up till see if he was okay. Then when I was back by our bench a teammate made a joke and I laughed. I wasn’t laughing at the foul."
On Sunday, the NBA announced Allen will be suspended for just one game as a result of the incident.