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After head coach Mark Daigneault commended his players for their support of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Lu Dort in his DPOY snub, teammate Alex Caruso reacted to the news during team shootaround ahead of Game 2. As Oklahoma City warmed up for Tuesday’s matchup, Caruso addressed Dort’s snubbing and used Lu’s defensive stop on Memphis Grizzlies guard Ja Morant to exemplify his point.
When Caruso learned Dort was not one of the three finalists announced for DPOY, he asked a reporter who did make it — Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green, Cleveland Cavaliers All-Star Evan Mobley, and Atlanta Hawks’ Dyson Daniels — before offering his response.
“Interesting. Yeah, that’s a media vote. So, the media obviously has their opinion on what they think the best defensive player looks like this season,” Caruso said. “But I got a front-row version of it night in/night out. So, maybe they need to come to Oklahoma City a couple more games next year.”
Then, Caruso explained how one of Dort’s defensive stops on Ja Morant in Game 1 was a terrific example of how the Thunder guard separates himself from the rest of the DPOY candidates.
“Respectfully, I don’t think those three guys can make that play, and that’s just kind of the uniqueness, and the special talent that Lu Dort is,” Caruso said. “To be able to pursue all of that, slip on the play, get up, guard arguably one of the quickest, twitchiest guards in the league, and then block the shot. That kind of just encapsulates the kind of defender he is, and I know he’s not worried about labels or awards; it would have been nice. But him going out there and doing it every night is the real award for him.”
Isaiah Hartenstein’s Draymond Green jab to Lu Dort’s snub
Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein took a jab at Warriors’ Draymond Green when he suggested he should start a podcast with Thunder guard Lu Dort, pointing out Green’s late push for DPOY. For Hartenstein, Lu has convinced him he’s this year’s Defensive Player of the Year.
“I might need to get a podcast with Lu, maybe. So, I don’t know,” Hartenstein said. “If you watched him all year, he’s been great. The finalists are great defenders, but watching Lu do what he does on a nightly basis — that’s what people don’t see, and what the stats don’t show. He’s been great all year. For me, he’s Defensive Player of the Year.”
The Thunder will host the Grizzlies for Game 2 on Tuesday.
