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There are things about Caruso's game you can criticize (ball handling, turnovers), but it doesn't make any sense to criticize his defense. Here are just a couple of examples:




The following was from NBA.com:

Alex Caruso, Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers enter Wednesday's games tied with Milwaukee for the top record in the league at 18-3 and have the league's fifth-ranked defense, allowing 103.0 points per 100 possessions. The Lakers have not posted a defensive rating this low since the 2011-12 season, which is the last time they made it out of the first round of the playoffs. The last time the Lakers posted a defensive rating below 103 was in 2009-10, when they won their last championship.

Discussions of championship contention are back in full swing as the new-look Lakers have opened the season so strong. While the dynamic duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis garner most of the attention, the efforts of the collective cannot be overlooked, especially when it comes to team defense.

One of the more unsung heroes of the Lakers defense is reserve guard Alex Caruso, who ranks sixth in the NBA in individual defensive rating as the Lakers allow just 96.9 points per 100 possessions in his 19.9 minutes per game on the court. Among players that average fewer than 20 minutes per game, Caruso ranks second in steals (1.1 per game) and third in deflections (2.3 per game) - both of which help the Lakers hold the second-best opponent turnovers percentage (16.6%) in the league.

In 133 minutes of defensive matchup time, Caruso has held his matchups to 43.5% (64-147) shooting from the field and 29.2% (14-48) from beyond the arc. Caruso's ability to force turnovers (31 by his matchups) and contest shots (4.6 per game) without fouling (six total shooting fouls committed) have made him a valuable piece in Frank Vogel's rotation. The Lakers' defense is 9.4 points per 100 possessions better with Caruso on the court (96.4 DefRtg) than when he's off the court (105.8).

 

Good save. The stuff I posted btw, was from two different time periods.

So, we were not arguing whether Caruso is a better defender than Schroeder (Caruso is), but whether Caruso is a starting quality guard in the NBA. I guess it depends on what you value. If scoring off the dribble by creating your own shot is your priority, then Schroeder is clearly better. If defense and playing well off LeBron with a 3 ball is the priority then Caruso is the obvious choice. I prefer the second. Maybe you prefer the first.

 

We complained about Caruso passing up open shots during the season all the time in the game thread.

 

And who knows his role and is happy doing it.

 

Guess he doesn't want to play in LA after all.

 

My biggest complaint about Caruso is he has yet to be awarded the NBA MVP. He has been robbed 2 years in the row.

 

LeBron has been in the league 18 years and won the championship 4 times. That means he lost 14 times. His supporting cast matters.