Grayson Allen’s latest dirty play on Alex Caruso caused a fractured wrist

Chicago Bulls guard Alex Caruso suffered a fractured right wrist after a dirty play in the air by Milwaukee Bucks guard Grayson Allen in the second half of a game on Friday night. Caruso finished the game for the Bulls, but will now need surgery that will keep him out 6-8 weeks, per reports.

Allen was suspended one game for the hit, the NBA announced.

Dirty plays have been a theme throughout Allen’s career.

Allen developed a reputation as a dirty player during a standout four-year career at Duke. Allen was busted twice for intentionally tripping opponents during his sophomore year with the Blue Devils, and went on a national apology tour after the season. When he returned for his junior year, he again intentionally tripped an opponent in a game against Elon, and had a full scale meltdown on the bench.

Allen was taken No. 21 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft, and it didn’t take him long before he was ejected from a summer league game for striking an opponent in the head. He’s bounced around from the Utah Jazz to the Memphis Grizzlies and now the Milwaukee Bucks, where he’s carved out a role as a reliable shooter playing off of Giannis Antetokounmpo and the team’s other veteran stars. This is unquestionably the best season of Allen’s pro career yet, but apparently he still can’t stop himself from making dirty plays.

Allen was ejected from Friday’s game against the Chicago Bulls for taking out Alex Caruso in the air on the fastbreak. Caruso slammed the ground and appeared to be in major pain, but managed to stay in the game. The refs the reviewed the play and gave Allen a flagrant-2 foul, which led to the ejection. Watch the play here:

That is such a scary play. Now we know Caruso is out 6-8 weeks after fracturing his wrist on the play.

Allen was going for the hard foul to prevent an easy layup in a close game, but he pushed it too far. Caruso was slammed to the ground in a defenseless position while in the air. Allen initially made a play on the ball, but it sure looked like he used his other hand to toss Caruso to the floor.

Both Caruso and Bulls coach Billy Donovan ripped Allen after the game. Donovan noted Allen’s history of dirty plays, and said he could have ended Caruso’s career.

Here’s Caruso’s thoughts on the play:

Caruso said Allen didn’t check on him after the play. Cameras caught Allen smirking on the sideline while the officials reviewed it.

When asked about Allen’s reputation dating back to his college days, Caruso said this:

You can watch the full video of Donovan and Caruso’s reactions here:

The refs made the right call tossing Allen from the game. He should get hit with a fine, too. The NBA should have zero tolerance for hitting a defenseless player in the air. Allen no longer deserves the benefit of the doubt after such a long history of trying to hurt his opponents.

The Bucks issued a statement saying they disagree with the suspension:

Grayson Allen never learns his lesson. He’s always showing us who he really is.