Alex Caruso, a player who last season only played 25 games, is now not only an established rotation player but the Lakers’ secret weapon.
How did this happen?
There is always a positive effect for the Lakers every time he steps on the floor, especially if he shares it with LeBron James. This duo leads the Lakers in 2 man lineups NET ratings by a mile.
To clarify, NET rating measures the team’s point differential per 100 possessions when these two players are on the floor.
The Caruso-James pairing’s NET rating is +24.7, which not only leads the Lakers but the entire NBA within duos that have played at least 150 minutes together.
In second place within the organization is the LeBron-Kuzma duo at +13.8, showing the massive gap between the first and second duo on the team.
The LeBron-Anthony Davis ranks 7th within the team and has a +10.2. These numbers must surprise many people because James and Davis are the two superstars of the team, but it’s Caruso and James that have the most impact on the scoreboard when they play together.
So, what does Caruso do that creates such a big impact?
Alex Caruso and LeBron James have developed great chemistry. That was portrayed on Tuesday’s night 118-109 Lakers’ win over the Pelicans. One of the highlights of the night was Alex Caruso’s no-look between the legs pass to LeBron who dunked it over former Laker Josh Hart. Welcome to the Caru-show!
Besides the fact that they have developed a great chemistry together, this wouldn’t be possible if Alex Caruso wasn´t a very good basketball player. Caruso has played excellent defense all season and has developed into one of the best defensive guards of the league. Besides that, every time you watch the Lakers play, you can see how Caruso makes winning plays. It can be a steal, a block, a hustle, or just great situational basketball, but it’s always Alex Caruso who is involved.
This duo has shown their impact throughout the season, being the Lakers’ “secret weapon”.
Will they get more minutes in the playoffs?
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