Los Angeles Lakers must consider giving Alex Caruso more minutes

The Los Angeles Lakers should seriously consider starting Alex Caruso at the point guard spot.

There isn’t much to complain about as a Los Angeles Lakers fan. There is one thing many Lakers fans would want and that is for Alex Caruso to start.

Sure, Lakers fans get carried away with the MVP chants for Caruso and by going as far as voting for him into the All-Star game. However, there is no denying Caruso is a quality guard and maybe better than a few of his teammates ahead of him in the rotation.

On the season Caruso is not putting up eye-popping numbers but his impact isn’t shown in the numbers. Similarly to guys like P.J. Tucker and Patrick Beverley, he does things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. Caruso brings the energy that isn’t matched by guys on his team, can defend multiple spots, and plays hard each night.

On the season Caruso is averaging 5.7 points and 1.8 assists in 19.2 minutes. He is shooting 43 percent from the field and 36 percent from deep.

Unfortunately for Caruso, his playing time has been inconsistent. Some nights he gets 10 minutes, some nights he gets 25 minutes.

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If Caruso gets consistent minutes he can certainly have more of an impact than players like Avery Bradley and Rajon Rondo. Caruso has defended at a higher level than the pair and is a bigger guard with a lot more to offer with his athletic ability.

Last season to end the year when given more minutes he showed signs of what he can do. He had a 32 point and 10 rebound performance against the Clippers and an 18 point and 11 assists game against Utah in the last week of the season.

It’s unlikely he will reach these numbers with LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the floor but he can make things happen and open the floor up. When Rondo is out there he has produced many nights but he also slows the pace down and holds the ball a lot.

Bradley has done his job defensively but doesn’t have the capability of Caruso on offense. Bradley is good for an open shot and cutting the lanes but can’t make much happen off the bounce. Caruso is a better playmaker and ball-handler who can help a player like Danny Green get better looks too.

The Lakers are doing a tremendous job so far this season with a 34-8 record so it’s hard to complain. One little tweak that may help them going forward is playing Caruso more.