Alex Caruso went from undrafted out of Texas A&M to a player NBA Twitter loves, whether it’s because of his hops or his toughness.
And now, as we saw in Game 4 of the Los Angeles Lakers’ playoff series over the Houston Rockets on Thursday night, he’s a key member of the team, a reserve who can be depended upon in crunch time and who is needed if LeBron James wants to win another title.
Caruso — who skipped his sister’s wedding to stay in the bubble with the Lakers — scored 16 points, swatted a couple of shots and hit the three-pointer that buried the Rockets, one that none other than James assisted on, which shows how much he trusts Caruso late:
Alex Caruso hits a dagger 3 🔥pic.twitter.com/39kPqvezao
— 👑Mike (@MikeThomass23) September 11, 2020
Then there are plays like this:
Watch how Alex Caruso drops his right foot back in near sync with James Harden's left foot before planting his feet, getting vertical, and then seizing an opportunity to strip him. Then Rondo finishes the job. pic.twitter.com/j1aUaqb2nO
— Laker Film Room (@LakerFilmRoom) September 11, 2020
Zones are vulnerable to skip passes. Alex Caruso beats Houston's with one and KCP finishes with the 3. pic.twitter.com/wTkqtwh00F
— Laker Film Room (@LakerFilmRoom) September 10, 2020
Here’s what James had to say after the game:
Lakers’ LeBron James on Alex Caruso w/ the dagger in Game 4 win over Rockets: “He’s a guy we know we can count on. Doesn’t make many mistakes. Plays winning basketball. I didn’t have one second guess I was going to hit him in that corner. He knows I have the confidence in him.” pic.twitter.com/IoMjBCozO8
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) September 11, 2020
And Caruso spoke about not only James’ confidence in him but the confidence he has in himself, which is just another reason to love him:
Alex Caruso was asked tonight how much confidence LeBron passing to him with the game on the line gives him.
His answer is pretty perfect, and sums up his journey and personality well. pic.twitter.com/sgdEzTcmGY
— Playoff Faigen (@hmfaigen) September 11, 2020
The Lakers need Caruso badly. Avery Bradley opted out, J.R. Smith isn’t playing, Dion Waiters is injured and Playoff Rondo is the bench point guard. If Caruso can do this on both ends of the floor the rest of the postseason, he’ll be so much more than a meme star.
