Alex Caruso of the Los Angeles Lakers suffered a calf injury during the team's 130-127 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.
The 25-year-old was originally listed as doubtful in the team’s back-to-back against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night. However, Caruso was upgraded to probable closer to the time of tip-off.
The Grizzlies, while feisty, currently sit with a record of 5-9, while the Lakers have cruised to a 13-2 record behind a stifling defense and the overall brilliance of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
On the defensive front, Caruso makes a big difference for the Lakers when he’s on the court, as the team gives up 5.2 fewer points per 100 possession when he’s on the court, according to Cleaning the Glass.
According to Basketball-Reference, Caruso’s defensive box plus/minus is fifth on the Lakers, behind only James, Davis, Dwight Howard, and JaVale McGee and ahead of noted good defenders such as Danny Green, Jared Dudley, and Avery Bradley.
While Caruso’s numbers are down this season in terms of per-game box score production, that can mostly be chalked up to better personnel around him, gobbling up the minutes he got last year.
Still, Caruso has played 280 total minutes already in 14 games, putting him on pace to easily log a career-high in minutes played.
As long as his defense remains stout and he is able to stay on the court, the fan-favorite should be an important rotation member for L.A. all season.