NBA Playoffs: Why LeBron James and the Lakers Have Faith in Alex Caruso

Alex Caruso started playing basketball when he was in first grade. He has played the sport at all levels, from recreational teams to college, the G League and now the NBA playoffs. So when LeBron James passed him on the corner as the Rockets closed the gap with the Lakers in the fourth quarter of Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Caruso was not afraid. He had no nerves.

He was just playing basketball, something he has done all his life.

“Honestly, I don’t think too much when I shoot. I just get it and let the natural movement of the body take over, ”Caruso said at Zoom after scoring 16 points off the bench to help the Lakers to a 110-100 win that gave them a 3-1 lead in the series in the second round. . “I’ve been practicing that corner three of Bron all year. Just knowing that you make the right decision at the end of the game, and there was a packed painting and I’m wide open in the corner.

“It was just about having the balls to intervene, shoot, not be afraid to miss, and that’s who I am. The game is at stake, I am a competitor, I am playing to win, ”Caruso continued. “If the ball comes to me, I’ll be ready to go.”

And for Caruso, this is more than just a coach’s speech. If you spend a lot of time with him, some things become clear. On the one hand, he has a terribly dry sense of humor that sneaks into little showcases all the time during interviews, and on the other, he’s actually as humble as his dates make him sound. Nor is he a white guy, the cliche of the coach’s son. He just doesn’t get into the sports media tropes about what you are thinking while shooting, or how much pressure was there for him, or Does it give you more confidence when Lebron James passes it on.

For him, this is just basketball. There is nothing complicated or extra about it. Whether you play as a role player in the NBA or the star of a youth team, you just want to make the right play that helps your team win. That’s your job, and it’s as simple as that. That’s why when asked after the game if this was the biggest shot he ever made, his answer wasn’t exactly surprising.

“No, I hit him a winning game when he was at AAU from the opposite free throw line. It was probably a more difficult shot than this, ”Caruso said bluntly, pausing for about five seconds before finally breaking out with a smile. “No, I’m joking with you, but as far as importance, man, I don’t know. There are still so many possessions late in the game, we don’t know if we won the game with that shot or not, but like I said, rain or shine, whether I go in or not, I’m ready to step up. and shoot.

“My teammates trust me, my coaches trust me. I’m out there for a reason. “

Photo by Michael Reaves / Getty Images

In another world, Caruso’s popularity with the Lakers fan base might not be so well received in the locker room. As someone who averaged just 5.5 points in 18.4 minutes per game, and yet was arguably the third most popular player on the team behind LeBron James and Anthony Davis, a guy who got chants of “MVP” from the Staples Center crowd and It was a viral sensation, his teammates might have glanced at him as a novelty. An overrated meme that was only loved for being a surprisingly athletic and bald white guy more than a real basketball player.

But aside from selling a bit of “Carushow” merchandise here and there, Caruso has never been promoted. He always downplays his own accomplishments, strives to effusively praise and give credit to his teammates, and jobs. In the process, instead of being resentful of receiving credit that can sometimes exceed his contributions, he has become a beloved presence in the locker room. His teammates see how hard he has worked to fight his way from not being drafted to landing a two-way deal to finally working his way into an NBA deal. They’ve watched him tirelessly do everything that is asked of him, from defending stars like James Harden and Damian Lillard to constantly monitoring and moving on offense even though he rarely gets a chance to score. They know it’s more than just a meme, and as a result, they’ve grown to enjoy promoting Caruso as much as the internet does.

Whether LeBron calls Caruso “GOAT” or JaVale McGee asks his video editor to make an exaggerated video comparing Caruso to Billy Hoyle from “White Men Can’t Jump” or calling him “The Bald Eagle”, they are having So much fun watching one of the toughest workers on the team flourish in his time like the rest of us.

“The air conditioning is amazing. He comes in, works every day and it shows, ”said teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. “He is one of the guys who is going to give us that energy from the bench, he will go looking for loose balls, he will protect the best players and we need that energy from the bench. AC is great. “

Those qualities and more are why James said he never thought twice about hitting Caruso in the corner so putting AAU punches across the court aside, he probably qualifies as by far the greatest. shot of his young career. He heard the criticism he’s received in the past for making the right basketball play and not shooting himself when his role players fail, but even with Caruso shooting just 28.6% from deep in the playoffs so far, he had faith that his teammate would. come through.

“We have a lot of confidence in AC, a guy who played a lot of his time in the G League, practically before this year. Last year they called him a couple of times, but much of his time he was in the G League, and for him to be now in this position, to be on this platform where he is playing important and significant minutes for a team that is competing. for a championship, I think his confidence is growing and growing, ”James said, and he effusively recognized Caruso for the great improvement he has made in the ninth playoff game of his career.

“He’s a guy we know we can count on, he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes on the court and he just plays winning basketball. That’s what it is, so to have it in a decisive moment, I didn’t have a second guess as to whether I was going to hit it in that corner when I saw that I had a bit of space, ”James continued. “He knows I have the confidence in him to take him down, and he shot it and he did it. It was not a surprise to any of us. “

Least of all Caruso, who didn’t spend a microsecond thinking about what it would mean to hit that late shot on Harden, or if it was the biggest jump of his career. He simply moved and fired, just as he would any other jumper.

“You know, for me it’s so simple. It’s basketball, man, ”Caruso said. “I’ve played so many times, and with so many people, obviously LeBron is the best player I’ve ever played with and I’ll probably play with, and having him on my side obviously gives me a lot of confidence, but I have here because I have confidence in myself, man.

“I don’t come out of the G League, I don’t come out of a draft if I don’t have self-confidence or some kind of self-belief, you know? And it doesn’t get to the point of arrogance, ”Caruso continued. “But when I’m in the game, I’m there for a reason.”

Thursday night, with the whole NBA world watching, he proved it.

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