2. Alex Caruso
Out of all of the Lakers that have played at least 50 games this season, Alex Caruso has by far the best defensive rating with 100.3 and almost a full four points better than Bradley who posted a defensive rating of 104 for the season.
Unlike other stats, the lower the defensive rating the better (it is how many points a player allows per 100 possessions), and Caruso has the eighth-lowest defensive rating in the league.
That defensive metric would make him considered as one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, so if the Lakers want to replace Bradley’s intense defensive ability, they should increase Caruso’s minutes significantly. His defense might actually even be an upgrade considering Caruso had 17 more steals while playing 154 fewer minutes than Bradley throughout the season.
Even though it worked out during the season to have KCP start in the place of Bradley, Caruso has earned the right to be considered for the starting point guard spot because of how well he has played alongside the starters.
He has played particularly well with the two all-stars James and Anthony Davis, those three have shared the floor for a total of 229 minutes and have a net rating of 19.4. More specifically he is the best role player on the Lakers playing alongside LeBron James, they have the best two-man net rating in the league with 20.8 (with a minimum of 300 minutes played together.)
Caruso also adds flare on the offensive end that Bradley rarely generated as a Laker, all it takes is one dunk from Caruso to get the Lakers bench off their seats in an environment that is going to lack hardly any crowd energy. They are going to need to feed off of each other more than ever, and the Lakers get energy from Caruso’s highlights just as much as anyone on the roster.
Lakers fans and analysts alike have been praising the play of Caruso all season long, and he even got Mike Trudell to recently say he is better than Lou Williams straight up. That comment might be a little outrageous, but Bradley’s absence from the rest of the season will allow Caruso to show what he can do, and might even allow him to back up all the praise he has rightfully been receiving.