Originally published by LakersNation.com
Alex Caruso was back in L.A. on Monday night as his Oklahoma City Thunder faced the Los Angeles Lakers. Caruso has been in and out of the lineup this season, but made it back to face LeBron James and company. He had one of his best games of the season, dropping 17 points on 7-of-8 from the field in 24 minutes of action.
Caruso played the first four years of his NBA career with the Lakers. He played a pivotal role in the team’s 2020 championship, starting Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. L.A., however, let him walk in free agency to the Chicago Bulls after the 2020-21 season. He was then traded to the Thunder, where he once again played a massive role on a championship team.
The defensive-minded guard spoke about returning to L.A., specifically to play against LeBron James and the challenges he presents even at 41 years old.
“It’s tough, man,” Caruso said. “He’s a strong dude and he’s still 6’8. He’s a really hard matchup for a lot of guys in the league. Not a lot of people have a 6’8, 250-pound guy that can handle his moves.
“It’s always fun competing against him. Anytime I play against the greats of the league, of the history of the league, I try to rise to the occasion and compete and play well because that’s the fun part about the NBA. It’s testing yourself against the best. So, just trying to make sure that I’m locked into play against him. Then coming back here, you want to play well against the former team.”
Caruso has proven himself to be one of the league’s most impactful perimeter defenders multiple times over. However, his mentality going up against LeBron is why he maintains his impact even as he prepares to turn 32 at the end of the month.
This season, he’ll be favored to win his third NBA title and second in a row with the Thunder currently leading the Western Conference by four games despite not being at full strength for virtually any games this season.
The Lakers, meanwhile, dropped to 32-20 with their loss to OKC, good enough for fifth in the Western Conference.
LeBron James: Thunder are championship team, Lakers are not
LeBron James spoke after the game about the differences between the Lakers and the Thunder, and he did not mince words. He plainly stated that the Thunder are a championship-level team and the Lakers are not right now.
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Alex Caruso was back in L.A. on Monday night as his Oklahoma City Thunder faced the Los Angeles Lakers. Caruso has been in and out of the lineup this season, but made it back to face LeBron James and company. He had one of his best games of the season, dropping 17 points on 7-of-8 from the field in 24 minutes of action.
Caruso played the first four years of his NBA career with the Lakers. He played a pivotal role in the team’s 2020 championship, starting Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat. L.A., however, let him walk in free agency to the Chicago Bulls after the 2020-21 season. He was then traded to the Thunder, where he once again played a massive role on a championship team.
The defensive-minded guard spoke about returning to L.A., specifically to play against LeBron James and the challenges he presents even at 41 years old.
“It’s tough, man,” Caruso said. “He’s a strong dude and he’s still 6’8. He’s a really hard matchup for a lot of guys in the league. Not a lot of people have a 6’8, 250-pound guy that can handle his moves.
“It’s always fun competing against him. Anytime I play against the greats of the league, of the history of the league, I try to rise to the occasion and compete and play well because that’s the fun part about the NBA. It’s testing yourself against the best. So, just trying to make sure that I’m locked into play against him. Then coming back here, you want to play well against the former team.”
Caruso has proven himself to be one of the league’s most impactful perimeter defenders multiple times over. However, his mentality going up against LeBron is why he maintains his impact even as he prepares to turn 32 at the end of the month.
This season, he’ll be favored to win his third NBA title and second in a row with the Thunder currently leading the Western Conference by four games despite not being at full strength for virtually any games this season.
The Lakers, meanwhile, dropped to 32-20 with their loss to OKC, good enough for fifth in the Western Conference.
LeBron James: Thunder are championship team, Lakers are not
LeBron James spoke after the game about the differences between the Lakers and the Thunder, and he did not mince words. He plainly stated that the Thunder are a championship-level team and the Lakers are not right now.
If you love our reporting, choose LakersNation.com as a preferred source on Google.