One of the nice surprises for the Los Angeles Lakers this season was the play of Alex Caruso. This offseason, he knows what he wants to work on to improve.
Starting in Las Vegas, Alex Caruso began to impress the Los Angeles Lakers. As part of the Summer League team with the Lakers, Caruso was a key part of the team that won the Summer League title.
Shortly after the Summer League was over, the Lakers decided to sign Caruso to a two-way contract. Caruso was able to make the most of the opportunities given to him over the summer, and getting a two-way contract with the Lakers was his reward.
While Caruso wasn’t expected to play a lot for the Lakers on the main roster, the team ended up needing him quite a bit. Despite Lonzo Ball having a good rookie season, he did miss 30 games due to injuries.
Tyler Ennis was the backup point guard to Ball, but his play throughout the season didn’t impress. With Ennis not playing well and Lonzo out for chunks of the season, the Lakers used Caruso a lot this season.
Caruso ended up playing 37 games with the Lakers this season, as he got to see a good amount of NBA action in addition to playing with the South Bay Lakers. With the Lakers, Caruso averaged 3.6 points, 2.0 assists, and 1.8 rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game. Even though Caruso was named to the All-NBA G League second team, he was a bit passive on the main roster. In his exit interview, Caruso spoke about being more aggressive to Trevor Lane of LakersNation.com.
"“Trying to be more of a scorer, trying to have a more aggressive mindset. The G League gives me an opportunity to practice those things while also getting experience in an actual NBA gameplay. For me, it helped to balance the two and intertwine them.”"
Since Caruso was getting just his first taste of NBA, it wasn’t surprising to see him be a bit passive. However, he was able to have some nice games with the Lakers.
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In the final game of the season, Caruso was able to end the season on a very positive note. Against the Clippers, Caruso totaled 15 points, as he made a good final impression on the Lakers. Caruso’s future with the Lakers is uncertain as a free agent, but he was certainly a hard-worker that is improving as a player.