Bulls guard Alex Caruso will listen to his body, but a left ankle injury puts status in doubt for Friday's game in Miami

Losing Caruso, one of the league’s best defensive players, would be a significant blow for the Bulls in a win-or-go-home game. Donovan said Caruso’s defense “set the tone” against the Hawks.

“He got through and under and around and kind of disrupted (the Hawks) a little bit,” he said.

The Hawks finished the game 30% from 3-point range as Trae Young was held to 4-of-12 shooting.

The loss of Heat star Jimmy Butler to an MCL sprain, as reported by ESPN, could give the Bulls the edge in a rematch of last year’s play-in game, which the Bulls had in hand until Butler took over in the final minutes. Unlike the Hawks, the Heat rely on defensive pressure and Butler is considered one of the league’s best playoff performers.

“They do a lot of things really really well,” Donovan said of the Heat. “At this point in time, it’s not a series — it’s a one-game series, so to speak.

“You try to prepare as much as you can in a 36-hour window, but the ultimate reality is it’s going to be (winning) loose balls, it’s going to be hustle plays, it’s going to be physicality plays. Both teams shoot 50 percent, (so) you’re probably talking about 50 missed shots by both teams. That’s a lot of loose balls.”

Caruso’s hustle and ability to come up with loose balls is what makes him so valuable and beloved in Chicago, but it’s also why he’s so fragile. Forfeiting his body for the sake of the team is second nature to him, and after three seasons Donovan seemingly has become resigned to the fact Caruso can’t change his game to protect his health.

But if his body tells him he can’t go, Caruso has to listen to it, as difficult as that might be for a competitor with his mindset in another win-or-else game.