This video is a must-watch. Perfect analysis of Caruso and his game. To add more, the reason Caruso and LeBron work so well is because Caruso knows how to adjust his game based on who is on the court. No LeBron = he gets more aggressive. With LeBron = he follows LeBron's lead. His defense allows LeBron to rest because Caruso will gladly fight over picks or switch over to other defenders. I love Caruso. The fact that the Lakers snagged him for basically nothing is insane. I said on the Kuzma thread that Kuzma just doesn't get it. Well, Caruso gets it. And if he keeps this up, this dude will earn himself a nice paycheck after his contract is up.
Man OKC are dumb, they could have had KD, Harden, Westbrook AND Caruso for a very long time. Oh well. :Kiddspilldrink:
All jokes aside, the Eagle can play. Love this guy. We lost a lot of good young talent the last two seasons. We may have just backed into keeping the one player that is able to blend with two stars while still impacting the game in a winning way. Awesome sauce.
I was listening to this excellent Laker Film Room pod on Caruso, and two things came to mind: 1. Isn't it funny players typically take that leap into knowing what they're doing and becoming the contributor you can expect them to be the rest of their career in the 3rd year, and then how some of us thought Lonzo, or Kuz, or Ingram would make that leap in their 3rd year, but it turned out to be Caruso by just steadily getting more and more competent, and shoring up his deficiencies? 2. If Caruso keeps this up, has his minutes increased leading into the playoffs, and he's able to work around teams scheming for him... Caruso might be our Draymond Green. Not saying they do everything the same, but Caruso is our glue guy in making plays work, offensively and defensively even without being the focus. From spacing on the floor on offense, to closing out on shooters and effort plays on defense, he just does all the little things that make possessions end in our favor.
He's basically Lonzo, honestly. If Caruso was a #2 pick, he'd be getting more scrutiny. Caruso's athleticism and high BBIQ really makes up a lot of what other athletes can't do.
he doesn't see the floor like lonzo on offense, but on d, he's exactly the same--except better on ball due to his strength. caruso would certainly get more scrutiny and suffer from higher expectations had he been picked higher, but he'd also have been given more opportunities earlier. for example, lonzo has had an (inexplicable?) green light to pull up for three off the dribble...what if caruso had that? would his percentages be worse...or better? anyway, who cares. he does a lot of what we need folks to do. if he improves his threeball just a little bit, he's a 12-15 million per player, imo. not bad for an accountant.
Might be a little too obscure since a lot of people don't put together the fact that he looks like an accountant, but Turbo Tax would be a sweet nickname for Caruso.
I want to see him make that 3 in the playoff environment. My initial discomfort with AC was his shot, but he’s performed so well this season that it hasn’t been an issue. But, the playoffs, with Beverly or Reggie chasing you around, can he make an open 3? I can’t wait for some playoff basketball.
