Since breaking onto the NBA scene late last season, Alex Caruso has become one of the most popular Los Angeles Lakers, partly because of his tenacious defense.
Recently, he was asked by Evan Daniels of 247Sports who the three toughest players for him to guard have been.
“KD’s (Kevin Durant) one of them. … His ability to shoot over you is unstoppable at times,” responded Caruso. “That makes his mismatch so crazy. I’d say LeBron [James], obviously I’m throwing him in there. I think Kyrie [Irving] is up there, just because he can score at so many levels and his finishing is so good that even if you stay in front of him he still has a chance to make it. I think those three are definitely up there.”
Caruso was called up from the G League last season due to a massive injury bug that hit the team.
He shot lights out from 3-point range the rest of the 2018-19 schedule, but it was his defense and hustle that caught people’s attention.
A big part of Caruso’s value to the Lakers is the fact that he’s a 6-foot-5 guard, which allows him to switch onto bigger players and effectively guard them for stretches.
Early this season, he failed to show the accurate stroke he had last season. But since Dec. 1 he’s been shooting 40 percent from 3-point range, which has been helpful to a Lakers team that has seen its outside shooting come and go.
But it’s probably been Caruso’s occasional highlight dunks, all of which seem to come out of nowhere, that have made him a huge cult figure among fans of the Purple and Gold.
