Los Angeles Lakers: Head coach Frank Vogel has to get this right
By Casey Ahmed
Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel has some tough decisions to make when it comes to lineup combinations with LeBron James on the bench, but Alex Caruso could be the answer.
So far this season the Los Angeles Lakers have been an absolute juggernaut demolishing teams while showing very little flaws. Not having a secondary ball-handler when LeBron James goes to the bench has many experts believing this issue will cause the Lakers from reaching the NBA finals.
It’s no secret that when LeBron James sits down that the Lakers offense craters, but there might be a little hope. Alex Caruso is more than just a Lakers Twitter meme. The guy can actually play.
No this isn’t saying Alex Caruso is going to be the third scorer for the Lakers that they valuably need. Moreso saying Caruso needs more minutes and somebody has to sit down.
Defensively Caruso can match up to most three’s and is quick enough to stay in front of the shifty guards of the west.
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Offensively, Caruso has organically created chemistry with LeBron and Anthony Davis. Especially LeBron, who seems to enjoy playing with Caruso.
Caruso’s advanced stats back up the effectiveness of his on-court minutes. Just recently against the New Orleans Pelicans, Rajon Rondo and Caruso spilt minutes spelling LeBron during his normal breaks in between quarters.
Rondo played a total of eleven minutes and finished -17. The eye test matched it as every Pelican run occurred when Rondo was on the floor. In comparison, Caruso was a +20 in his 17 minutes of game time.
On the season the eye test and number test match up, as Caruso has a net rating of +7.4, second-highest on the team, while Rondo is at a -7.2 net rating.
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At a certain point, Vogel must make a tough decision due to Rondo’s rep with AD and LeBron, but up to this point, it’s obvious what should be done. This, with many other storylines, will be something to keep an eye on with the Lakers going forward.