A showdown that had to be an amazing one. LA Lakers v/s Golden State Warriors. The match was expected to be a Lakers win and also by a big margin, to be honest. Warriors were already short-handed with James Wiseman, Kelly Oubre Jr, and Klay Thompson out for the game, and 2 of them probably for the season as well. But the game went down to the last possession where LeBron hit the dagger over Steph Curry.
However, the game was not this close in the 1st Half, also late in the 3rd Quarter, the Warriors had a comfortable 12-point lead over the Lakers. Then the Carushow happened.
Lebron, AD and Dennis had a poor show in the 1st Half
LeBron, Anthony Davis, and Dennis Schroder were on a brick show – combining 3 of 26 in the 1st Half. Caruso was a perfect 5 of 5 including 2 Three-pointers in the 1st half scoring 12 points and he was the only Laker in double digits in the 1st Half. However, the Lakers were still trailing by the score of 55-42 at the end of the 2nd Quarter.
Frank Vogel Mentions ‘His attention to detail is just wise, very wise, and he knows what he wants to do,” James told Caruso in a post-match video conference. “Always in the right place at the right time. He just plays, he just plays. Some of them appear in the box score, but some don’t. But tonight, they Definitely appeared in the box score, which means he had to carry us almost aggressively in the first half and rival him in the second half’
Before entering this game, he was suffering from pain in his right leg, due to which he took a game off against the Indiana Pacers and was listed as probable before coming into the game.
Caruso ended the game with 14 points, 3 steals and 1 block. 2 steals out of these 3 were stripped off from Steph Curry in one-on-one situations and in crucial situations where the game was shifted in the favor of the Lakers.
Alex Caruso – The History:
Caruso with OKC Blue
Caruso went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft. He was an average player in his college career, averaging 8.0 points and 4.7 assists in the 137 games played. However, he got a chance to showcase his skills in the G-League when he signed up with the OKC Blue and averaged 11.9 points 5.2 assists with 2.2 steals per game. His defensive prowess is what the NBA Executives took notice of.
Caruso with the South Bay Lakers
He then moves to the LA Lakers G-League Affiliate – South Bay Lakers where he averaged 17 points, 7.2 assists, and 2 steals per game which earned him a call-up in the NBA signing a 2-way contract in 2017 thereby becoming 1st player to go into NBA from the G-League.
Alex Caruso – Debut with the LA Lakers
It was his high-flying dunks and the defensive hustle that took him to a benchwarmer to the 6th man of the squad. He was an integral part of the Lakers rebuild. When the squad was traded during the Anthony Davis Trade, the Lakers decided to stay put on him and not trade him to the Pelicans.
Alex Caruso – 2020-21 Season Averages
Games | Minutes Played | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Blocks | Steals | FG % |
58 | 21 | 6.4 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 43.6 |
Also Read | NBA Hall of Fame Class of 2020
