The Los Angeles Lakers secured a big win on Saturday to go up 2-1 in their first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers. The story of the game was dominance from both LeBron James and Anthony Davis but they got plenty of help from their role players, including Alex Caruso who had his most complete game of the series thus far.
Caruso had played solid defense on Blazers guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum in the first two games of the series but on Saturday, he added some offensive game to it. The backup guard finished the game with 10 points and seven assists, doing an admirable job of running the offense when James (who only played 34 minutes) was on the bench.
Much of Caruso’s excellence offensively came in the two-man game with Davis. Especially in the second half when AD came alive after a sloppy first half, Caruso and AD ran several pick and pops with great success. At one point, they ran the same play four straight times, leading to three straight made jumpers from Davis and a fourth where he was fouled on the shot.
Caruso talked about that two-man game in particular after the game:
Alex Caruso on his success in the two-man game with Anthony Davis tonight.
"Me and him, when we get it going and there's ball movement like that, he's playing off me and I'm playing off him, it's really hard to guard."
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) August 23, 2020
Caruso is usually the type of player that knows what he is capable of and won’t try to do something outside of his comfort zone. But hearing him talk with confidence about his offensive game and that it’s hard to guard an action involving him should be really pleasing to every Lakers fan. The Lakers don’t have a true number three player after James and Davis on that end of the floor but several, including Caruso, are capable of having big nights to support them. You can see all of Caruso’s assists in the video below:
The guard also spoke about Rajon Rondo’s influence on his game as his backcourt partner gets ready for a return to the team:
Alex Caruso on the imminent return of Rajon Rondo and how he'll help the Lakers when he's back: pic.twitter.com/GQKye5SWCu
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) August 23, 2020
Caruso had a few plays where you could see Rondo’s influence as the guard would drive after a screen and keep his dribble alive patiently until the last minute, drawing two defenders with him effectively to the basket before kicking it out and creating a four-on-three opportunity for a teammate.
It’s those little smart plays by Caruso that add a ton to the Lakers when he’s operating with the confidence and patience he showed on Saturday. Continuing that trend would do wonders for the Lakers’ championship aspirations.
