Alex Caruso has been an absolute gem for the Los Angeles Lakers. I could go on and on about his balding cult following, but I want to highlight his actual on-court contributions. Caruso provides the team with energy and defense, a typical coach’s son contributions for a coach’s son. His chemistry with LeBron James and Anthony Davis has also been integral to the team’s exhilarating playoff run.
The Lakers bench was their lone bright spot in a competitive game 3 loss to the Miami Heat. They scored 53 points, the second-most by reserves in Finals history, with eight of those points coming from Caruso. He also finished with the second-highest plus-minus in the game at +8.
In these Finals, Caruso has stepped up his game and focused on his shooting. During the first three rounds of these playoffs, he’s shot 27.8 percent from long range, but the NBA Finals have been a different story. Caruso has increased his shooting to 40 percent. He spoke to SB Nation’s Christian Rivas about his mindset:
Alex Caruso says he's never been more confident in his shot than he is right now. Caruso's shot 40% from 3-point range in the Finals.
— Playoff Rivas (@RadRivas) October 5, 2020
More than ever, Caruso will have to continue elevating his game as the Lakers work to close out this series. The Heat don’t care about your energy and effort because they feel they have enough of their own. Like much of the unconventional road he’s taken, Alex Caruso has a shot to prove the talkers incorrect and it starts from behind the arc.
