Alex Caruso = Lakers Basketball

Post #101 » by **milesfides** » Thu Mar 29, 2018 11:38 pm

Ballerhogger wrote:He’s been spoty but he’s decent

Pretty hard to be consistent when you’re being jerked around two leagues, trying to play for your career but required to fit in, and by fitting in, playing different positions in different roles in different lineups at varying minutes in odd games.

Ballerhogger · Post #102 » by **Ballerhogger** » Fri Mar 30, 2018 2:45 am

milesfides wrote:
Ballerhogger wrote:He’s been spoty but he’s decent

Pretty hard to be consistent when you’re being jerked around two leagues, trying to play for your career but required to fit in, and by fitting in, playing different positions in different roles in different lineups at varying minutes in odd games.

True I hope he fills the need he will have time play with lonzo our

Ballerhogger · Post #103 » by **Ballerhogger** » Fri Mar 30, 2018 2:55 am

milesfides wrote:
Ballerhogger wrote:He’s been spoty but he’s decent

Pretty hard to be consistent when you’re being jerked around two leagues, trying to play for your career but required to fit in, and by fitting in, playing different positions in different roles in different lineups at varying minutes in odd games.

True I hope he fills the need he will have time play with lonzo out

stan francisco · Post #104 » by **stan francisco** » Mon Apr 2, 2018 12:15 am

Loved seeing Caruso back. He plays ball the right way, fits Luke's system well. High value on the court for the low price tag. I'd try to lock him up as a role player for next season For a fair deal. Impressively efficient, especially considering the complete and total lack of consistency. Very smart player. Good defender, too.

SlimShady83 · Post #105 » by **SlimShady83** » Mon Apr 2, 2018 12:22 am

PG position next year

Lonzo/IT (on the cheap, short year deals) Caruso

Not too shabby if you ask me

Ugly0598 · Post #106 » by **Ugly0598** » Mon Apr 2, 2018 12:46 pm

Lakers need to be starting him the rest of the way to see if he's capable of a full backup/bench PG spot next year and not just a two way.

TKainZero · Post #107 » by **TKainZero** » Wed Apr 4, 2018 2:10 am

UtahJazzFan88 wrote:Lakers need to be starting him the rest of the way to see if he's capable of a full backup/bench PG spot next year and not just a two way.

I don't think he is.

At best he looks like a 3rd string pg who will limit his mistakes and give good effort on defense.

Ugly0598 · Post #108 » by **Ugly0598** » Wed Apr 4, 2018 3:25 am

TKainZero wrote:
UtahJazzFan88 wrote:Lakers need to be starting him the rest of the way to see if he's capable of a full backup/bench PG spot next year and not just a two way.

I don't think he is.

At best he looks like a 3rd string pg who will limit his mistakes and give good effort on defense.

He hasn't been impressing me much lately, at least Ennis can get 8-12 points.

SlimShady83 · Post #109 » by **SlimShady83** » Wed Apr 4, 2018 5:47 am

UtahJazzFan88 wrote:
TKainZero wrote:
UtahJazzFan88 wrote:Lakers need to be starting him the rest of the way to see if he's capable of a full backup/bench PG spot next year and not just a two way.

I don't think he is.

At best he looks like a 3rd string pg who will limit his mistakes and give good effort on defense.

He hasn't been impressing me much lately, at least Ennis can get 8-12 points.

He doesn't need too impress anybody at this point - his a 3rd string PG that's it

Can't expect much more from a 3rd string PG who sees limited minutes and way too many games off due to being miss used

As long as we don't have Ennis and we keep Caruso next year I'll be happy

MachoMan · Post #110 » by **MachoMan** » Wed Apr 4, 2018 12:04 pm

my opinion of Caruso is he is good enough to be on a NBA contract, but on a healthy roster, he likely tops out as a solid 3rd String PG.

Ugly0598 · Post #111 » by **Ugly0598** » Thu Apr 5, 2018 3:50 am

Dude needs to look for his shot more if he wants the 3rd pg spt.

Post #112 » by **milesfides** » Thu Apr 5, 2018 3:50 pm

No, he was playing within the offense, within his role.

1Q with the starters: Caruso played like a small forward - his usage was very low. His main job was inbounding the ball and filling in the corners (never got a pass though!) Julius Randle was actually playing point guard, he and KCP were the primary guys bringing the ball up, getting high screens, etc.

At the end of the half, Caruso brings the ball up, crosses the half court line, bullies Tony Parker all the way to the basket for a layup (should have been an and-one, too).

3Q with the starters:

Caruso back in for the 2nd half. This time, he's bringing the ball up more, and he hands off to Kuzma, who swishes a three off the switch.

Next possession, they do the same thing, except they fake the handoff and Kuzma cuts to the basket. Murray and Anderson do a good job closing the passing lane. Lopez reacts properly and sets a screen on Murray; Caruso uses it to hit the off the dribble three.

A minute later, KCP sidelines inbounds to Caruso, who drives baseline to the basket. Aldridge closes hard to help, and Caruso dumps it off to an open Randle who dives for the dunk.

That was pretty much his night. 2-2, 1-1 from three, 5 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 turnovers. Great defense.

He had a reduced role, it was structured to be a low usage role with the starters. He did a good job of never letting his man score on him: Dejuante Murray, who I think is an absolute stud and has been blowing up, did nothing on Caruso, who also boxed him out on the boards. Murray has a major size and athleticism advantage on almost everybody this season, but Caruso absolutely neutralized him. When Caruso was out, Murray killed every other Laker on him - 23 points (on 12 shots) and 10 rebounds.

On the other hand, Tyler Ennis with the 2nd unit played a more conventional point guard role, with Hart/KCP at the off guard, Kuzma, Frye, and Zubac. Ennis had the ball in his hands, floor was spread. This would have been a juicy situation for Caruso, but he stayed out.

This unit did well, and the key mismatch was that Kuzma played small forward and absolutely scorched Danny Green, who couldn't contest his shot or disrupt his drives. Kuzma had a huge night, as did Frye (8-9, 3-3 threes) and Zubac (6 assists!). Rudy Gay was too small for our big frontcourt. Ennis played well and hard as he usually does, but he was definitely abused by Murray (see above), but overall, Luke did a good job of sticking with this 2nd unit.

Post #113 » by **milesfides** » Thu Mar 7, 2019 5:33 am

THIS GUY COULD HAVE HELPED US ALL YEAR

Ballerhogger · Post #114 » by **Ballerhogger** » Thu Mar 7, 2019 5:49 am

milesfides wrote:THIS GUY COULD HAVE HELPED US ALL YEAR

XtremeDunkz · Post #115 » by **XtremeDunkz** » Thu Mar 7, 2019 8:50 am

Caruso is decent, but LeBron has to hook him up with his hair guy or hes gotta go buy a buzzer.

stan francisco · Post #116 » by **stan francisco** » Thu Mar 7, 2019 7:26 pm

XtremeDunkz wrote:Caruso is decent, but LeBron has to hook him up with his hair guy or hes gotta go buy a buzzer.

I love it. He’s the least “LA” player the Lakers have ever had. But he rarely makes mistakes on the court. Sign him long term to a decent deal.

JohnVancouver · Post #117 » by **JohnVancouver** » Sun Mar 10, 2019 11:48 pm

milesfides wrote:... He's a steal. To me, he embodies what Laker basketball should be about, especially under Luke Walton.

Yeah, I love guys like this, dirt workers, Cotton Fitz called them. Love to see him stick as an end of the bench guy.

TJM217 · Post #118 » by **TJM217** » Mon Mar 11, 2019 12:03 am

Is Caruso a good defender? Or does he look good compared to Rondo?

Kobe_for_3 · Post #119 » by **Kobe_for_3** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 7:53 pm

TJM217 wrote:Is Caruso a good defender? Or does he look good compared to Rondo?

yes and yes!

SweetTouch · Post #120 » by **SweetTouch** » Wed Mar 13, 2019 9:31 pm

Lbj loves playing with gritty guys

He’s out delavedova