Los Angeles Lakers get a huge performance from Alex Caruso replacing Lonzo Ball

The Los Angeles Lakers received a big game from Alex Caruso to defeat the Sacramento Kings on Monday night.

Things have not gone according to plan for the Los Angeles Lakers in the Las Vegas Summer League. The Lakers came into Las Vegas with some high expectations, as they were the odds on co-favorites to take home the summer league title along with the Phoenix Suns.

The Lakers certainly didn’t look like champions in their first two games of summer league. The first game the Lakers lost to the Los Angeles Clippers in overtime. In the second game, the Lakers crumbled in the second half again, as they lost to the Boston Celtics.

What was more disappointing than the losses were the injuries that piled up. Brandon Ingram was shut down after cramping in the first game against the Clippers. Josh Hart sprained his ankle in the game against the Celtics.  That was only the beginning of the injuries for the Lakers.

Prior to Monday night’s game against the Sacramento Kings, it was announced that two more players would be sidelined. First round pick Kyle Kuzma, who scored 31 points against the Celtics, did not play against the Kings because of cramps. He was joined on the sideline by Lonzo Ball, who is nursing a groin injury.

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The Lakers came into the game very shorthanded, as they were without four players. As a result, the Lakers dug deep into their summer league roster and struck gold.

Replacing Ball in the starting lineup was former Texas A&M point guard, Alex Caruso. Caruso played last season with the Oklahoma City Blue in what is now the G-League. Caruso could very well garner some NBA attention after tonight’s performance.

Caruso had some big shoes to fill. Ball was one of the biggest draws in Las Vegas this year. Caruso made sure those fans were not disappointed tonight.

Caruso put on a show as the leading man for Los Angeles. Caruso got it done on both ends of the court in a multitude of ways. He scored, handed out nice assists and provided some great defense as well.

Offensively, Caruso finished with 18 points and handed out nine assists. His nicest assist went to Travis Wear. In the postgame interview, it was something Caruso said you don’t see too often as it was a white guy to white guy alley-oop.

Caruso shot an impressive 7-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-5 from deep. Defensively, he was no slouch either. He recorded four steals, but the highlight of the game came when he blocked Buddy Hield‘s layup at the rim.

Caruso got it done on both ends of the court tonight for the Lakers. He finished with 18 points, nine assists, four rebounds, four steals, and one block. He also turned the ball over only two times in 30 minutes.

Next: Lakers 2017 Summer League Roster Breakdown

As long as Ball is sidelined, you can expect to see him as the starting point guard for the Lakers in Las Vegas. Tonight’s performance should get Caruso some notice. He is a steady point guard with a good jump shot, something many teams would like to have at the end of their bench.