“Expect Him to Play Well”: Lakers Head Coach Hands Bigger Responsibility to Point Guard

Los Angeles Lakers have had a rough time in the bubble. The team has struggled to get its offense going. These struggles saw them drop five of their eight scheduled games. However, everyone knows that the team is loading up for the playoffs, where they face Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round.

Lakers will miss Avery Bradley’s contribution, but Rajon Rondo is expected to make his way back into the team. In their absence, the Lakers gave bigger roles to fringe guards. One of those guards was Alex Caruso. Caruso has always been solid defensively but lacks the offensive tools you need from a modern NBA guard.

LA Lakers Head Coach Frank Vogel must see something in him, however, as Caruso is expected to get more opportunities in the playoffs. Vogel said this about the third-year guard.

“Shooting the ball poorly but playing extremely well. I expect him to play well. He’s one of those guys that tries to make the right play every time.

“Offensively, he’s left his feet a little too often for my liking in the first couple games, but he knows that and usually, self corrects pretty easily. He plays extremely hard and impacts the game on both ends of the floor.”

Los Angeles Lakers secret weapon?

Alex Caruso has rapidly risen through the ranks in the LA Lakers. He went from on the absolute fringes of the team to a genuine rotation piece this season. His impact is quantifiable, even though his offensive number has been pitiful in the bubble. In the six games that Caruso has played in Orlando, he is averaging 5.5 points on 32.3% shooting from the field and a woeful 15.4% from three. Despite this, Caruso has a +/- of +3.7. This means that the team plays better when he is on the floor. This includes a +21 rating he got against the Denver Nuggets, despite scoring 0 points.

Caruso has established himself defensively but needs to add at least a stable offensive repertoire to go with it. The Lakers anyway lack offense when LeBron James isn’t playmaking. Rondo’s return will help this, but even Caruso needs to step up. He will be on the court to provide defense, but he needs to help out more in offensive situations as well.