<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Alex-Caruso-LeBron-James-Lakers.jpg"></figure><h1>LeBron James speaks out on Alex Caruso’s do-it-all impact for Lakers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-27T22:01:41-08:00">January 27th, 10:01pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-27T22:01:41-08:00">January 27th, 10:01pm</time><address><a>Virgil Villanueva</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Alex Caruso was instrumental in the Los Angeles Lakers’ late-game surge on Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers. After the game, LeBron James praised Caruso, noting that he can literally do anything on the floor.</p><p>Per <a href="https://twitter.com/LakersReporter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1354639468032999428%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D988778action%3Dedit">Lakers reporter Mike Trudell</a>, LeBron called Caruso a “Swiss Army knife” as he can impact the game in so many ways. Coach Frank Vogel also hinted that the fan favorite might receive an increase in his playing time which is currently pegged at 17.8 minutes per game.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">LeBron on Caruso: "AC is whatever we need. He’s a Swiss Army knife, to be honest … he can do it all, he just helps our ballclub in so many ways.”</p><p>Vogel has talked about the <br>"good problem” of having a deep/talented bench. But, imagine Caruso's minutes will &gt;&gt;&gt; when it matters.</p><p>— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) <a href="https://twitter.com/LakersReporter/status/1354639468032999428?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 28, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>In their heartbreaking 107-106 loss to the Sixers, Caruso came off the bench and chipped in 10 points, two assists, and one steal. Though seemingly pedestrian numbers, the 26-year-old athletic guard was the one responsible for the Lakers’ late-game fightback that almost won them the game.</p><p>With the Lakers down by 10 points with just over three minutes left in the game, Caruso came up with a steal on Joel Embiid, which led to a wide-open three-pointer for Caruso himself to inch closer to a single digit.</p><p>In the Lakers’ next possession, Anthony Davis jacked up a 28-footer and missed. But Caruso was able to tip the ball for the offensive rebound, which led to a three-pointer from Dennis Schroder, cutting the lead to just four points.</p><p>At this point, Lakers fans were raving at Twitter, pointing out that Caruso’s minutes should increase given how productive he is.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Caruso too good to go through this BS every night with his minutes</p><p>— Raj C. (@UnwrittenRul3s) <a href="https://twitter.com/UnwrittenRul3s/status/1354629156059795460?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 28, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">A few things:</p><p>Amazing the Lakers even made it close. </p><p>Alex Caruso should play more AND still close games.</p><p>AD needs to up his level. </p><p>Dennis was great on both ends in the 2nd half.</p><p>I love this team &amp; when they really put it together in a meaningful way they’ll be devastating.</p><p>— Darius Soriano (@forumbluegold) <a href="https://twitter.com/forumbluegold/status/1354632341251969031?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 28, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>It was just unfortunate that Caruso’s big night was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sixers-news-tobias-harris-sinks-game-winning-shot-over-alex-caruso-in-grueling-victory-over-lakers/">spoiled by Tobias Harris</a>, who drained the game-winner right on his grill. Despite this, fans and analysts saw that Caruso put on his best defensive stance on that possession.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Tobias Harris saved the Sixers from a lot of HOT takes…. </p><p>(BTW: that was good defense by Caruso on that shot)</p><p>— Jorge Sedano (@Sedano) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sedano/status/1354631403896365063?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 28, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Alex Caruso isn’t affectionately called the Bald Mamba for nothing.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

LeBron James speaks out on Alex Caruso’s do-it-all impact for Lakers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/tobias-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Tobias Harris sinks game-winning shot over Alex Caruso in grueling Sixers-Lakers match</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-27T19:33:15-08:00">January 27th, 7:33pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-27T19:53:23-08:00">January 27th, 7:53pm</time><address><a>Dijo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Tobias Harris and the Philadelphia 76ers just handed the Los Angeles Lakers their first road loss of the season with a masterful game-winning shot on Wednesday night.</p><p>The Sixers star came up big on the last play, as he took on the smaller Alex Caruso on an isolation play before knocking down a pull-up jumper to give Philly the lead with less than three seconds to go. The Lakers couldn’t do anything else after that, which resulted in the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/scores/nba/boxscore/los-angeles-lakers-philadelphia-76ers-1-28-2021/deb2ac2c-2aaf-40db-af98-a7492f89c208" rel="noopener">107-106 win</a> over the defending champs.</p><p>Watch how Harris took over the game on the Sixers’ final possession (via <a href="https://twitter.com/TrashTalk_fr/status/1354631226242572288">TrashTalk</a>):</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">TOBIAS HARRIS FOR THE WIN !!!!!!! <a href="https://t.co/fzf1TXbEuB" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/fzf1TXbEuB</a></p><p>— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrashTalk_fr/status/1354631226242572288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 28, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>The Sixers seemed to have the game in the bag, as they were up by double digits for the majority of the final quarter. Tobias Harris, who ended up with the game’s biggest play, put Philly up by as much as 14 with over five minutes left.</p><p>From there, the Lakers climbed their way back. After big threes from Alex Caruso, Dennis Schroeder and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Anthony Davis knocked down a g0-ahead basket with 10 seconds left on the game clock to cap LA’s 13-0 surge.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">LEBRON TO AD : LAKERS LEAD !!!!!! <a href="https://t.co/tkHNwajOGn" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/tkHNwajOGn</a></p><p>— TrashTalk (@TrashTalk_fr) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrashTalk_fr/status/1354630764852342787?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 28, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>This set-up Harris’ clutch shot for the Sixers</p><p>The 28-year-old swingman finished the game with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting, while Joel Embiid led the way with 28 points, six rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Ben Simmons also came up big with his third triple-double of the season with a 17-11-10 stat line to help the Sixers’ cause.</p><p>With the win, Philly is now 10-1 at home while the Lakers, coincidentally, are 10-1 on the road.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Tobias Harris sinks game-winning shot over Alex Caruso in grueling Sixers-Lakers match

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Talen-Horton-Tucker-Alex-Caruso-Lakers-Montrezl-Harrell.jpg"></figure><h1>Lakers’ Alex Caruso refuses to let Talen Horton-Tucker get left hanging by Montrezl Harrell</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-24T11:14:20-08:00">January 24th, 11:14am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-24T11:17:53-08:00">January 24th, 11:17am</time><address><a>Immanuel Canicosa</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Despite having a short offseason to integrate key players into their rotation, the Los Angeles Lakers have gotten to a strong start, racing to an NBA-best 13-4 record, including a franchise-best 9-0 start on the road.</p><p>Aside from picking up win after win, another sign of the team’s strong chemistry early on is that their players don’t leave their teammates hanging for high-fives <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-anthony-davis-unknowingly-reminded-us-josh-hart-goat-being-left-hanging/">unlike they did in the past</a>.</p><p>During the Lakers’ 101-90 win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, big man Montrezl Harrell fell to the floor during one sequence and was picked up by teammates Alex Caruso, Talen Horton-Tucker, and Wesley Matthews. As he rose up, Horton-Tucker tried to give Harrell a high-five, which the reigning Sixth Man of the Year apparently didn’t see as he walked past him.</p><figure class="op-interactive"></figure><p>That was when Caruso came to save the day, taking the sophomore’s hand and making sure that it is able to high-five Harrell’s. Just when it looked like Horton-Tucker was about to join the list of NBA players who were left hanging by their teammates, most notably former Laker, and New Orleans Pelicans guard<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/pelicans-video-josh-hart-reacts-to-getting-left-hanging-by-lonzo-ball/"> Josh Hart</a>, Caruso proved that he was a consummate teammate.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/alex-caruso-1.html">former Texans A&amp;M guard</a> finished with just three points, one rebound, and two assists in 18 minutes of play against the Bulls, but he helped the team pick up another win while also giving an assist to his younger teammate by making sure he didn’t get left hanging.</p><p>The Lakers continue their road trip against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday, where Caruso hopes that none of his teammates will get left hanging.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers’ Alex Caruso refuses to let Talen Horton-Tucker get left hanging by Montrezl Harrell

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Alex-Caruso-Talen-Horton-Tucker-Lakers.jpg"></figure><h1>VIDEO: Alex Caruso, Talen Horton-Tucker link up for steal and slam</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-10T18:59:59-08:00">January 10th, 6:59pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-10T18:59:59-08:00">January 10th, 6:59pm</time><address><a>Kriel Ibarrola</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Lakers fan favorites Alex Caruso and Talen Horton-Tucker linked up for an impressive highlight against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on Sunday. Turning defense into offense, the crowd darlings pestered Rockets’ guard Eric Gordon <a href="https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1348451480509034496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1348451480509034496%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D969430action%3Dedit">en-route to an easy fastbreak jam</a> for THT.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">not that Lakers fans need another reason to be crazy excited but here is THT and Alex Caruso absolutely everywhere. <a href="https://t.co/9ObV6onyaJ" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/9ObV6onyaJ</a></p><p>— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) <a href="https://twitter.com/WorldWideWob/status/1348451480509034496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 11, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>With the reigning champs holding a double-digit lead near the end of the third, Horton-Tucker poked the ball away from Gordon. As the Rockets shooter tried to recover his fumble, the Carushow came diving out of nowhere to secure possession of the ball. Caruso wisely gave the ball up to a streaking THT, who did the rest and finished it off with a right-handed tomahawk over James Harden’s rather uninspired defense.</p><p>The Lakers, meanwhile, are <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-anthony-davis-lebron-james-marc-gasol-team-up-to-deny-rockets-john-wall-with-vicious-blocks/">stacked to the brim with talent right now</a>, making guys like Alex Caruso and Talen Horton-Tucker a luxury to have. THT, of course, has dazzled for the Purple and Gold since the preseason and has been a regular in coach Frank Vogel’s rotation so far.</p><p>The 20-year-old sophomore guard is making the most out of his 17 minutes per night, tallying 7.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists, while shooting 42.9 percent from the field and 31.6 from deep in nine games. Caruso, on the other hand, is playing in his third game back after missing 11 days due to the league’s coronavirus health and safety protocols.</p><p>He hasn’t missed a beat since returning and still gives the Lakers’ second unit a much-needed infusion of energy. Caruso is norming 6.6 points, 2.0 boards, and 1.4 assists in five games so far.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

VIDEO: Alex Caruso, Talen Horton-Tucker link up for steal and slam

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Alex-Caruso-Lakers.jpg"></figure><h1>Alex Caruso back in the lineup vs. Spurs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-01-07T18:28:38-08:00">January 7th, 6:28pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-01-07T18:28:38-08:00">January 7th, 6:28pm</time><address><a>Brandon Biskobing</a></address><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Folk legend Alex Caruso is back on the court for the Los Angeles Lakers tonight in their matchup against the San Antonio Spurs.</p><p>Head coach Frank Vogel <a href="https://twitter.com/mcten/status/1347353727775121408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1347353727775121408%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D966473action%3Dedit">told the media prior to tonight’s game</a> that Caruso is fully active with no restrictions being placed on him. He also said Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a game-time decision.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Frank Vogel says Alex Caruso will play tonight, no minutes restriction just be smart about it. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (left ankle) will warm up and be a gametime decision. LeBron and AD will play too.</p><p>— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) <a href="https://twitter.com/mcten/status/1347353727775121408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">January 8, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Caruso has <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-alex-caruso-suddenly-ruled-out-blazers-game-health-protocols/">missed the last five games</a> due to NBA health and safety protocols. The protocols and missing of action stems from Caruso’s hip flexor injury he sustained during the preseason. Thus far this season in limited action prior to missing these last five games, Caruso averaged 5.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1 assist per game. The Lakers hope his time out of action to recover will help Caruso improve his productivity now that he is returning to action. In spite of his missing in action, the Lakers are still off to a hot start, currently having a 6-2 record.</p><p>Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has been out for the past few games due to an ankle injury he suffered last week in the third quarter of the Lakers road game against the Spurs. Vogel and KCP have both been wanting to get him back on the court all this week, but still have been cautious with his return.</p><p>With the hurried start to the 2020-2021 season, an increase in injuries are expected. While not as profound as some would expect, there have been a few injuries early on in the season. It is yet to be seen if this trend will continue as the season progresses.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso back in the lineup vs. Spurs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/caruso-3.jpg"></figure><h1>Lakers guard Alex Caruso suddenly ruled out of Blazers game due to health protocols</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-12-28T18:56:43-08:00">December 28th, 6:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-12-28T18:57:16-08:00">December 28th, 6:57pm</time><address><a>Dijo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Alex Caruso will not be suiting up for the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday due to the league’s health and safety protocols. The announcement was made by head coach Frank Vogel ahead of their game against the Portland Trail Blazers.</p><p>Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet broke the news on <a href="https://twitter.com/LakersReporter/status/1343728005651202048">Twitter</a> ahead of tip-off.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Frank Vogel said that Alex Caruso will not play tonight due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols.</p><p>— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) <a href="https://twitter.com/LakersReporter/status/1343728005651202048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">December 29, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>With just four games in, these last-minute personnel changes are to be expected as the NBA is rolling out strict measures and protocols this season to keep everyone safe amid the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>Laker fans are hoping though that Caruso’s case is merely precautionary. Caruso also isn’t the only star who will miss Monday’s match-up due to health and safety protocols. On Sunday, it was announced that Blazers star Carmelo Anthony <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/blazers-news-carmelo-anthony-not-with-portland-due-to-health-and-safety-protocols/">didn’t make the trip to LA</a> due to the aforementioned reasons.</p><p>Last season, Caruso broke out and was one of the most pivotal members of the Lakers’ reserve unit. Though his numbers weren’t staggering, his on-court presence was huge and the point guard made sure that he impacted the game whenever or however he could.</p><p>He brought the “CaruShow” in the Orlando bubble and was key to the Lakers’ championship run last season. The G League alum also made his first NBA playoffs start in Game 6 of the NBA Finals where the Lakers eliminated the Miami Heat.</p><p>With Rajon Rondo now in Atlanta, Caruso is poised to get bigger minutes as the main back-up PG for the defending champions.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers guard Alex Caruso suddenly ruled out of Blazers game due to health protocols

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/caruso-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Alex Caruso transforms into Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with beautiful sky hook</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-12-27T21:50:19-08:00">December 27th, 9:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-12-27T21:50:19-08:00">December 27th, 9:50pm</time><address><a>Paolo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso came out with his best Kareem Abdul-Jabbar impersonation on Sunday in a matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 26-year-old sunk a very pretty sky hook against the Wolves, which was reminiscent of Kareem’s trademark move.</p><p>Here’s a look at the play, courtesy of <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1343403556045393920">SportsCenter</a> on Twitter:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Caruso's sky-hook is a thing of beauty 😯 <a href="https://t.co/Drb4KOghQw" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/Drb4KOghQw</a></p><p>— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1343403556045393920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">December 28, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Caruso showcased his moves on this particular play against a formidable defender in Ricky Rubio. The 6-foot-5 point guard logged just 11 minutes during Sunday’s blowout, but Caruso made sure to make his minutes count, finishing with seven points, one triple, two rebounds, and a nice-looking Abdul-Jabbar-eqsue sky hook.</p><p>The Lakers absolutely pummeled a hapless Timberwolves side, who were missing superstar big man Karl-Anthony Towns due to a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-karl-anthony-towns-nursing-wrist-dislocation-and-will-miss-time/" rel="noopener">dislocated wrist</a>. L.A. mounted an early lead and never looked back. The one-sided contest ended with a final score of 127-91.</p><p>Lakers superstar big man Anthony Davis sat this one out with a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-anthony-davis-out-vs-timberwolves-due-to-calf-injury/">calf injury</a>, but fill in starter Kyle Kuzma more than made up for his teammate’s absence. The fourth-year power forward led all scorers with 20 points (on 8-of-12 shooting), four three-pointers, three rebounds, three assists, three blocks, and just one turnover in 29 minutes of play. Kuzma scored all 20 of his points in a tremendous <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-kyle-kuzma-sizzles-in-start-for-anthony-davis-with-20-points-first-half/" rel="noopener">first-half performance</a>.</p><p>L.A. handed the Wolves their first loss of the season, as the Lakers improve to 2-1. Caruso and Co. will look to make it three straight wins, as they return to action tomorrow night in a matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso transforms into Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar with beautiful sky hook

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/lakers-news-kyle-kuzma-not-done-with-bricks-claims-alex-caruso.jpg"></figure><h1>Kyle Kuzma not done building with bricks, claims Lakers teammate Alex Caruso</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-12-20T19:53:19-08:00">December 20th, 7:53pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-12-20T19:53:19-08:00">December 20th, 7:53pm</time><address><a>Paolo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso was one of the first to congratulate teammate Kyle Kuzma after reports emerged that the fourth-year power forward had just agreed to terms on a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-kyle-kuzma-agrees-to-40-million-extension-with-la/">$40 million extension</a> with the Purple &amp; Gold.</p><p>Caruso took to Instagram to send his congratulations for Kuzma, which included a special message for some of his teammate’s naysayers (h/t <a href="https://www.talkbasket.net/115291-alex-caruso-reacts-to-kyle-kuzmas-extension-with-lakers">TalkBasket.net</a>):</p><figure><img src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cTkBcFuHXNACnN8tQelL7g3AnuM=/0x0:666x1180/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:666x1180):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22186813/1328D1C5_F3C6_46F1_9D56_7C10F605AF37_1_105_c.jpeg"></figure><p>Kuzma hasn’t exactly been a fan favorite in L.A., and he has been on the receiving end of some criticism (which sometimes feels excessive and unwarranted) from his own ruthless fan base. Caruso is well aware of the same, and made sure to send a special shout out to all of Kuzma’s haters in light of this recent development. Clearly, the Lakers organization remains confident in Kuzma, and the 25-year-old is an integral part of the squad’s plans for the future.</p><p>Kuzma’s production saw a significant dip last season, which was brought about by the arrival of Anthony Davis in the summer. Kuzma was relegated to a bench role last term, which resulted in career-low numbers of <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/k/kuzmaky01.html#all_per_game">12.8 points</a>, 3.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.3 steals in 25.0 minutes per action.</p><p>Nevertheless, the former 27th overall pick played a key role for the Lakers’ second unit, which ultimately led to a championship ring for Kuzma. The haters can keep on talking, but the important thing here is that Kuzma has played well enough to earn a much-deserved, big-money extension with one of the most successful and historic franchises in all of sports.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kyle Kuzma not done building with bricks, claims Lakers teammate Alex Caruso

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/caruso.jpg"></figure><h1>Alex Caruso dishes on moment he found out he was starting Game 6 of the Finals</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-12-17T19:13:04-08:00">December 17th, 7:13pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-12-17T19:13:04-08:00">December 17th, 7:13pm</time><address><a>Dijo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>There were a ton of storylines to follow in the Los Angeles Lakers’ epic 2020 championship run. One of the more interesting narratives from last season in LA was that of third-year guard Alex Caruso. The 26 year old shared his journey from the G-League all the way to making it to his first-ever NBA Finals start in Game 6 against the Miami Heat.</p><blockquote>“I said ‘I’m ready.’ You know, whether I’m starting or coming off the bench, my whole career has kind of been like that.” Caruso said when asked what his initial reactions were to him being pushed to the starting line-up ahead of Game 6 (via <a href="https://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2020/12/17/22187857/lakers-alex-caruso-q-and-a-interview-injury-update-game-6-nba-finals">silverscreenandroll.com</a>). “When I was on a two-way contract I’d show up and I didn’t know if I was gonna play that night. I might play zero minutes, I might get thrown in and play 25 minutes. It’s all just about being prepared and staying ready. I think that it really helped me. That helped me prepare for (Game 6), and then the morning of the game, before film session, coach let me know and I didn’t tell anybody back home whenever coach told me because I told them we were supposed to win Game 5 and I’d talk to them whenever we finished it out and we’d celebrate together.”</blockquote><p>Caruso and the rest of the Lakers did end up celebrating after Game 6 as the Purple &amp; Gold ended up with a 106-93 win over the Miami Heat and bring home banner number 17. He ended up playing a career playoff high of 32 minutes and logged in a +20 in his first ever NBA playoff start that day.</p><p>It’s been a roller coaster ride for Caruso so far in the NBA. From being undrafted in 2016 to playing for multiple G-League teams to finally earning his minutes under head coach Frank Vogel. Now that the “Carushow” is officially set in Hollywood, look for Caruso to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-alex-caruso-reflects-on-his-ever-growing-cult-following/">build on this and be a key weapon</a> for the Lakers as they try to make it back-to-back in 2021.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso dishes on moment he found out he was starting Game 6 of the Finals

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Alex-Caruso-reflects-on-his-ever-growing-cult-following.jpg"><figcaption>ClutchPoints</figcaption></figure><h1>Lakers’ Alex Caruso reflects on his ever-growing cult following</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-12-03T22:58:48-08:00">December 3rd, 10:58pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-12-03T22:59:18-08:00">December 3rd, 10:59pm</time><address><a>Virgil Villanueva</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Over the last couple of years, Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso has gained a cult following among fans of the Purple and Gold. After winning the 2020 NBA title, his fan-base grew exponentially. The guard acknowledged this fact. And seems to have no qualm about it.</p><p>Per Ryan Ward of Lakers Daily, Alex Caruso shared his thoughts on his ever-growing cult following.</p><blockquote>“Lakers fans were already in love with me I think. I think now it’s kind of doubled over.”</blockquote><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Alex Caruso on his cult following: "Lakers fans were already in love with me I think. I think now it's kind of doubled over."</p><p>— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanWardLA/status/1334621467972136961?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">December 3, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>It’s hard to pinpoint why Alex Caruso has captured the hearts of Lakers diehards. Maybe because of his humble beginnings as an undrafted prospect? His sneaky athleticism? Or maybe because he just knows his role and plays it at an elite level?</p><p>LeBron James, arguably the greatest basketball player today, has heaped praise on Alex Caruso’s play style. After clinching their spot in the NBA Finals in September, James spoke about how he and Caruso have a similar mindset when it comes to winning:</p><blockquote>“I gravitate toward players like that right away, because the game, everybody talks about the physical side, and how high you can jump and how fast you can run and all those things. But the mental side is what gets you to the next level,” James said, per <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/alex-caruso-lebron-james-lakers-nba-playoffs-11600406618?st=9jms6mo8j977ixg&amp;reflink=article_email_share">Ben Cohen of the Wall Street Journal</a>. “I saw that from A.C. and he continues to learn. He’s just been great for us.”</blockquote><p>It’s not blasphemous to claim that without Alex Caruso, the Lakers wouldn’t have won the title. Or at the least, it would’ve been a very difficult road for them. Fortunately, Caruso will likely stick around for the Lakers. The possibility of racking up more titles remains high.</p><p>Alex Caruso knows he has a good thing going. Continuing to play well will enable him to retain a special status among a loyal legion of fans.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers’ Alex Caruso reflects on his ever-growing cult following

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/caruso.jpg"><figcaption>CP</figcaption></figure><h1>Lakers’ Alex Caruso’s honest take why players get stuck in the G League</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-11-10T19:47:48-08:00">November 10th, 7:47pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-11-10T19:47:48-08:00">November 10th, 7:47pm</time><address><a>Kriel Ibarrola</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Before Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso became a fan favorite in the NBA, he first had to pay his dues in the G League from 2016 to 2019. Now, he already has a ring and has found his niche as one of the key players of the Purple and Gold.</p><p>Some, however, are not as fortunate as Caruso and don’t get the opportunity to realize their dream of making it out of the G League into the NBA. A select few have received 10-day contracts but barely made an impact and eventually found themselves waived.</p><p>Caruso, who spent time with the Oklahoma City Blue and South Bay Lakers, recently sat down with New Orleans Pelicans guard JJ Redick for his popular <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rulLByF38TE&amp;feature=emb_logo" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Old Man and The Tree Podcast</a>. The 6-foot-5 combo guard shared an honest take about why most players never make it out of the farm programs.</p><figure class="op-tracker"><iframe><script>  (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){  (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),  m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)  })(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');  ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', 'auto');  ga('set', 'campaignSource', 'Facebook');  ga('set', 'campaignMedium', 'Instant Article');  ga('set', 'title', ia_document.title);  ga('send', 'pageview');</script><script type="text/javascript">      window._taboola = window._taboola || [];      _taboola.push({          article: 'auto',          ref_url: 'http://instantarticles.fb.com'      });      !function (e, f, u, i) {          if (!document.getElementById(i)) {              e.async = 1;              e.src = u;              e.id = i;              f.parentNode.insertBefore(e, f);          }      }(document.createElement('script'),          document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],          'https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/clutchpoints-clutchpoints/trk.js',          'tb_loader_script');      if (window.performance) {          if (typeof window.performance.mark == 'function') {            window.performance.mark('tbl_ic');          }        }</script></iframe></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers’ Alex Caruso’s honest take why players get stuck in the G League

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/lebron-james-alex-caruso-lakers.jpg"></figure><h1>LeBron James’ presence eased Alex Caruso’s ‘anxiety’ inside the bubble</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-11-07T18:21:02-08:00">November 7th, 6:21pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-11-07T19:02:17-08:00">November 7th, 7:02pm</time><address><a>Ashish Mathur</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On the latest episode of New Orleans Pelicans guard J.J. Redick’s podcast called “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIvRyeGZviY" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Old Man and The Three,”</a> Los Angeles Lakers guard and fan-favorite Alex Caruso talked about how LeBron James helped him get over his anxiety in the bubble when it came to how the team was playing on the court.</p><p>The Lakers, after locking up the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, took their foot off the gas pedal in the remaining seeding games before the playoffs started. Then, Los Angeles lost Game 1 of their first-round matchup to the Portland Trail Blazers, so Caruso was wondering when the club was going to flip the switch and start playing up to their potential.</p><blockquote>“After we won the first game against the Clippers in the bubble, I think the human nature of, ‘Alright, we locked up the No. 1 seed, we’re going to rest some guys, we’re going to make sure we’re all healthy going in.’ But for me, I’m a play every game, play every minute the same way kind of guy. For me, on the inside, I was having some anxiety,” Lakers guard Alex Caruso said, via<a href="https://s22928.pcdn.co/alex-caruso-wondered-if-lakers-flip-switch-for-playoffs/2020/11/07/"> Lakers Nation</a>.</blockquote><p>The Lakers rattled off four wins in a row to defeat the Blazers in the first round, but then the Purple and Gold reverted back to their poor habits in the Western Conference Semifinals by losing Game 1 to the Houston Rockets.</p><p>Once again, Caruso was wondering if the team was really going to accomplish its goal of winning the title. Fortunately for Caruso, he knew he ultimately couldn’t count out LeBron James.</p><blockquote>“Then I was like, ‘I’m not going to bet against the No. 23 on my team to be ready to go.’ There was a little bit — on my part, at least — a little hesitation like, ‘Are we going to be ready to play?’</blockquote><p>The Lakers took out the Rockets in five games, defeated the Denver Nuggets in the conference finals in five games, and then wrapped up their magical season by winning the championship over the Miami Heat in six games, with James winning his fourth title and fourth Finals MVP award.</p><p>It wasn’t always pretty, but the Lakers got the job done, thanks in large part to the efforts of James and Anthony Davis.</p><figure class="op-tracker"><iframe><script>  (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){  (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),  m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)  })(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');  ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', 'auto');  ga('set', 'campaignSource', 'Facebook');  ga('set', 'campaignMedium', 'Instant Article');  ga('set', 'title', ia_document.title);  ga('send', 'pageview');</script><script type="text/javascript">      window._taboola = window._taboola || [];      _taboola.push({          article: 'auto',          ref_url: 'http://instantarticles.fb.com'      });      !function (e, f, u, i) {          if (!document.getElementById(i)) {              e.async = 1;              e.src = u;              e.id = i;              f.parentNode.insertBefore(e, f);          }      }(document.createElement('script'),          document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],          'https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/clutchpoints-clutchpoints/trk.js',          'tb_loader_script');      if (window.performance) {          if (typeof window.performance.mark == 'function') {            window.performance.mark('tbl_ic');          }        }</script></iframe></figure></article>    </body></html>

LeBron James’ presence eased Alex Caruso’s ‘anxiety’ inside the bubble

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Lakers-news-Alex-Caruso-compares-Michael-Jordan-documentary-to-being-on-drugs-Thumbnail.jpg"></figure><h1>Lakers’ Alex Caruso compares Michael Jordan documentary to being on drugs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-11-06T10:37:02-08:00">November 6th, 10:37am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-11-06T10:37:02-08:00">November 6th, 10:37am</time><address><a>Immanuel Canicosa</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Since its first episode aired in April, the sports documentary “The Last Dance,” which chronicled Michael Jordan’s storied NBA career and final season with the Chicago Bulls, served as a reminder of how good the 1990s Bulls were while also inspiring other athletes, like Los Angeles Lakers guard Alex Caruso.</p><p>Caruso, a champion with the Lakers, not only admitted to rewatching the documentary to serve as motivation, but also made an interesting comparison to it.</p><p>In an interview with New Orleans Pelicans guard JJ Redick on his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIvRyeGZviY&amp;feature=emb_logo">The Old Man and The Three Podcas</a>t with Tommy Alter, the Lakers guard talked about his experience of winning his first championship, what he learned from his teammate LeBron James, and his journey from going undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft to being a key rotation player on a champion team.</p><p>When talking about “The Last Dance”, which bagged the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-the-last-dance-wins-outstanding-documentary-at-emmys-2020/">Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series Award</a> at the Primetime Emmy Awards, Caruso compared watching the 10-part series to a drug, especially considering the number of titles Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Phil Jackson, and the rest of the 1990s Bulls won. </p><blockquote>“It’s like a drug you can’t get enough of… I watched ‘The Last Dance’ documentary and every time they will celebrate a championship. You see the banner coming. You see the confetti coming up. I would get that adrenaline rush, I’d get that feeling and I was like, ‘Man I gotta feel that’. … Before the finals started I watched The Last Dance over again. Because I wanted to get that little bit of juice ’cause I wanted to have the dream again in my head. Even though we [Lakers] blew them [Heat] out in Game 6, until the clock hit zero, I really didn’t have that feeling.”</blockquote><p>Watching the documentary must have worked, because the 26-year-old guard played a key role in the Lakers’ win over the Miami Heat in the 2020 NBA Finals, In six games, Caruso <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/carusal01/gamelog-playoffs/">averaged</a> 6.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists while shooting 43.3 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. But more than those numbers, it was his effort on defense and hustle plays that helped the Purple and Gold bring home a title to Los Angeles for the first time in a decade. </p><p>With the season set to start soon, maybe Caruso could rewatch it again to help motivate him as the Lakers look for back-to-back titles.  </p><figure class="op-tracker"><iframe><script>  (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){  (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),  m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)  })(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');  ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', 'auto');  ga('set', 'campaignSource', 'Facebook');  ga('set', 'campaignMedium', 'Instant Article');  ga('set', 'title', ia_document.title);  ga('send', 'pageview');</script><script type="text/javascript">      window._taboola = window._taboola || [];      _taboola.push({          article: 'auto',          ref_url: 'http://instantarticles.fb.com'      });      !function (e, f, u, i) {          if (!document.getElementById(i)) {              e.async = 1;              e.src = u;              e.id = i;              f.parentNode.insertBefore(e, f);          }      }(document.createElement('script'),          document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],          'https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/clutchpoints-clutchpoints/trk.js',          'tb_loader_script');      if (window.performance) {          if (typeof window.performance.mark == 'function') {            window.performance.mark('tbl_ic');          }        }</script></iframe></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers’ Alex Caruso compares Michael Jordan documentary to being on drugs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/caruso-2.jpg"><figcaption>CP</figcaption></figure><h1>RUMOR: Alex Caruso drew crazy interest during trade deadline, claims LA assistant</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-10-22T21:40:52-07:00">October 22nd, 9:40pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-10-22T21:40:52-07:00">October 22nd, 9:40pm</time><address><a>Paolo Mariano</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>By now, many are already familiar with the inspiring journey of Alex Caruso. He went from being undrafted to being an absolute cult figure, and now, an NBA champion.</p><p>The athletic guard out of Texas A&amp;M was a perfect spark off the bench for the Los Angeles Lakers this past season. He played a career-best 64 games with averages of 5.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 steals. His numbers aren’t exactly eye-popping but he gets major minutes because of his intangible contributions. He sets screens, makes the extra pass, dives for loose balls, etc. Caruso is also a terrific defender, locking down opposing guards and disrupting passing lanes with his quick hands and high basketball IQ.</p><p>The 26-year-old Caruso is a quintessential role player.</p><p>That is why many teams reportedly wanted to acquire him during this past season. Lakers assistant coach Mike Penberthy <a href="https://lakersdaily.com/report-lakers-coach-says-every-team-wanted-alex-caruso-during-trade-talks/">told Lakers Daily</a> that virtually all opposing squads inquired about Caruso.</p><blockquote>“Every time we wanted to do a trade in the offseason or before the trade deadline, every team wanted Alex Caruso. He’s known throughout the league and respected throughout the league.”</blockquote><p>But the Lakers smartly held on to the high-flying guard. Caruso became even more instrumental for the Purple and Gold in his first NBA Playoffs stint. He upped his averages to 6.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.1 steals in 24. 3 minutes per outing, including crunch time situations.</p><p>Since <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/alex-caruso-net-worth-in-2020/">signing a two-year, $5.5 million deal</a> with the Lakers in 2018, Caruso has been nothing but vital for the Hollywood squad. Penberthy, who was also a fan favorite during his playing days with the Lakers like Caruso, said the Bald Mamba has a lot of assets.</p><blockquote>“I think his basketball IQ is really high. His skill set is very high. He’s an above-average athlete and he’s an excellent defender. That’s what makes him so good.”</blockquote><p>Now that he’s found his niche in the NBA with some championship pedigree, expect Caruso to draw even more interest from other teams.</p><figure class="op-tracker"><iframe><script>  (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){  (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),  m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)  })(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');  ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', 'auto');  ga('set', 'campaignSource', 'Facebook');  ga('set', 'campaignMedium', 'Instant Article');  ga('set', 'title', ia_document.title);  ga('send', 'pageview');</script><script type="text/javascript">      window._taboola = window._taboola || [];      _taboola.push({          article: 'auto',          ref_url: 'http://instantarticles.fb.com'      });      !function (e, f, u, i) {          if (!document.getElementById(i)) {              e.async = 1;              e.src = u;              e.id = i;              f.parentNode.insertBefore(e, f);          }      }(document.createElement('script'),          document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],          'https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/clutchpoints-clutchpoints/trk.js',          'tb_loader_script');      if (window.performance) {          if (typeof window.performance.mark == 'function') {            window.performance.mark('tbl_ic');          }        }</script></iframe></figure></article>    </body></html>

RUMOR: Alex Caruso drew crazy interest during trade deadline, claims LA assistant

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}.webfeedsFeaturedVisual {	display: None !important;}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <div><img alt="Alex Caruso, NBA Top Role Players" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" height="673" src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Alex-Caruso_s-net-worth-in-2020-THumbnail.jpg" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 5px; clear: both;" width="1200"><p>Alex Caruso has certainly come a long way from being just an undrafted guard out of Texas A&amp;M in 2016. Four years later and Caruso is not only a rotation player for the Los Angeles Lakers, but he can now also call himself an NBA champion. After losing Game 5 of the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat, the Lakers <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-alex-caruso-replacing-dwight-howard-starting-lineup-game-6-heat/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">chose to start</a> Caruso over center Dwight Howard in Game 6, and the 26-year-old’s defense was key in a 106-93 win over the Heat to secure title No. 17 for the franchise.</p><p>The Lakers certainly aren’t the first team that comes to mind when thinking about underdogs, but Caruso’s journey from being an undrafted guard to a starter in the NBA Finals is nothing short of an underdog story worthy of Hollywood. After spending a couple of seasons playing for both the Lakers and their affiliate team in the G League, the South Bay Lakers, the Texas native was signed to a two-year, $5.5 million contract in the 2019 offseason. This means that Caruso earned $2,750,000 last season and will earn the same amount in his fourth season with the club.</p><h2>Alex Caruso’s net worth in 2020 (estimate): $2 million</h2><p>Caruso’s current net worth is <a href="https://playerswiki.com/alex-caruso" target="_blank">reportedly at $2 million</a>, which just shows how far his NBA journey has come. After not hearing his name called on draft night in 2016, Caruso joined the Philadelphia 76ers for Summer League. In September, he was signed by the Oklahoma City Thunder but later waived, instead joining their team in the then-called D-League. At the time, the salaries of D-League players <a href="https://www.ridiculousupside.com/2016/11/21/13695060/derrick-byars-nbadl-salaries-new-cba" target="_blank">ranged from $50,000 up to $75,000</a>, which increased due to the NBA signing a new collective bargaining agreement that season.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p>Caruso, who at the time hadn’t played in the NBA yet, was likely earning a similar amount. But this was only the first step in the former Aggies point guard’s journey. His first break came the following summer, when he joined the Lakers’ Summer League team. Together with the team’s 2017 draft picks in Kyle Kuzma, Lonzo Ball, and Ivica Zubac, Caruso helped the Lakers win the Las Vegas Summer League title, endearing himself to legions of Lakers fans and establishing himself as a player who deserved to get a shot in the NBA.</p><p>His strong performances that summer were enough for the Lakers to <a href="https://www.nba.com/lakers/releases/170713-alex-caruso-signed" target="_blank">sign Caruso to a two-way contract</a>, going directly from the G League to the NBA and becoming the first player to do so. But even though he was already signed by the Lakers, a two-way contract still meant that he would spend most of his time with the South Bay Lakers. A player signed to a two-way contract may only spend a maximum of 45 days on an NBA roster.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p><a href="https://www.hoopsrumors.com/2017/04/hoops-rumors-glossary-two-way-contracts.html" target="_blank">Hoops Rumors says</a> that during the 2017-2018 season, when the Lakers first signed Caruso to a two-way contract, players in the G League earned an averaged of $75,000. The following season, a 3% increase bumped those salaries up to $77,250. However, since Caruso also joined the Lakers during those two seasons, he likely would have made roughly $204,000 each season if he was able to join the team for the maximum of 45 days. In 2018, after his first full season with Los Angeles, Caruso’s net worth was <a href="https://www.thesquander.com/alex-caruso-net-worth-2018-what-basketball-player-worth-2033006765" target="_blank">reportedly at $100,000</a>.</p><p><img alt="Alex Caruso, LeBron James, Lakers" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-875955" height="673" src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Alex-Caruso-explains-the-bedrock-of-his-chemistry-with-LeBron-James.jpg" width="1200"></p><p>The summer of 2018 was an important one for the Lakers, with LeBron James signing a four-year deal with the team. The front office brought Caruso back on another one-year, two-way contract. Caruso, who statistically ranks as the player with the<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/alex-caruso-lebron-james-lakers-nba-playoffs-11600406618" target="_blank"> highest net rating when playing alongside James</a>, continued to play in the G League and the NBA. Even as their newly acquired star missed time due to injury and the Lakers’ playoff drought continued after finishing the season with a 37-45 record, Caruso’s playing time and productivity increased during his second full season as he continued to gain a cult following.</p><p>The Lakers then traded away most of their young players to acquire Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans last offseason. They then filled out their roster by signing veterans on cheap deals. Caruso, Kuzma, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope became their longest-tenured players, with Caruso having spent more time playing in the G League than for the Lakers. At the time, his net worth was <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/alex-caruso-net-worth-salary-lakers-star-underpaid-his-breakout-season-2887064" target="_blank">reportedly at around $1 million</a>. But during the past season, even as the losses mounted and it became apparent that the team would miss the playoffs for another year, it was clear that the 26-year-old guard was a good fit with James and his teammates.</p><p>The team finally signed Carusoa to a two-year, $5.5 million deal, making him <a href="https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2868369-it-worked-for-alex-caruso-and-lakers-but-2-way-nba-contracts-get-mixed-results" target="_blank">just one of only a few players to secure a multi-year contract</a> after previously playing on a two-way contract for the NBA and the G-League. The Texas A&amp;M product rewarded management by averaging 5.5 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 steals in 64 games in the first year of his contract, helping the Lakers finish first in the Western Conference. In his first taste of action in the playoffs, Caruso played with the poise of a veteran, increasing those numbers to 6.5 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists in 21 playoff games as he proved to be a vital cog in the team’s run to the franchise’s 17th title.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p>Now a champion, Caruso will enter the second year of his contract and make $2.75 million yet again, which is a bargain considering his contributions on both ends for the Lakers. If he continues to improve like he has in his first three seasons for the team, it would not be surprising if the front office signs the point guard to another multi-year contract as the Lakers look to retain players who play well with James and Davis who can also be signed on team-friendly deals.</p><p>It’s fascinating to look at Alex Caruso’s net worth in recent years, because it underlines his rise from an undrafted player to a rotation player and a fan favorite to a key player on a championship-winning team.</p><p>The post <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/alex-caruso-net-worth-in-2020/" rel="nofollow">Alex Caruso’s net worth in 2020</a> appeared first on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com" rel="nofollow">ClutchPoints</a>.</p></div>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso’s net worth in 2020

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/caruso-1.jpg"></figure><h1>Lakers’ Alex Caruso releases exclusive ‘Championship Collection’ merch</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-10-14T19:25:58-07:00">October 14th, 7:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-10-14T19:25:58-07:00">October 14th, 7:25pm</time><address><a>Dijo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Newly crowned NBA champion Alex Caruso is on a championship high. The 26-year-old is making the most out of the Los Angeles Lakers bagging the 2020 NBA title and decided to release his own championship merchandise.</p><p>Caruso <a href="https://twitter.com/ACFresh21/status/1316447112192765955">took to Twitter</a> to announce a new line for his ‘Carushow’ merch entitled “Championship Collection.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">New Carushow merch: Champion Collection 🏆<a target="_blank" href="https://t.co/6tRrwLo1I5">https://t.co/6tRrwLo1I5</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://t.co/fvBoMrMxDS">pic.twitter.com/fvBoMrMxDS</a></p><p>— Alex Caruso (@ACFresh21) <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/ACFresh21/status/1316447112192765955?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Caruso’s new championship merch comes in three designs featuring him illustrated in front of the Larry O’Brien trophy. He even went as far as putting a couple of goats in some of the designs. Talk about championship swagger.</p><p>The Texas native has had quite the year for the Lakers as he proved to be a critical part of head coach Frank Vogel’s reserve unit. Coming off the bench, Caruso provided crucial minutes all season long and made sure to bring the “CaruShow” all the way to the NBA bubble in Orlando.</p><p>In the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat, Caruso logged in 24.8 minutes per game off the bench and filled the stat sheet in whatever way he could. Though he only averaged 6.3 points per game in their series against the Heat, he was able to add 2.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 0.8 steals in six games. Caruso also brought some much-needed energy whenever he took the floor and was never one to back down of any challenge both offensively and defensively.</p><p>This is probably why LeBron James consistently calls Caruso the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-lebron-james-apparently-calls-alex-caruso-the-g-o-a-t/">G.O.A.T.</a></p><p>It’s been a roller coaster ride thus far in the NBA for the young point guard, which has seen him go undrafted in 2016 to bouncing to different G League teams and finally make it to the Lakers roster. Now, Caruso can officially call himself an NBA champion and if naysayers don’t want to hear it—he’ll have the merch to prove it.</p><figure class="op-tracker"><iframe><script>  (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){  (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),  m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)  })(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');  ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', 'auto');  ga('set', 'campaignSource', 'Facebook');  ga('set', 'campaignMedium', 'Instant Article');  ga('set', 'title', ia_document.title);  ga('send', 'pageview');</script><script type="text/javascript">      window._taboola = window._taboola || [];      _taboola.push({          article: 'auto',          ref_url: 'http://instantarticles.fb.com'      });      !function (e, f, u, i) {          if (!document.getElementById(i)) {              e.async = 1;              e.src = u;              e.id = i;              f.parentNode.insertBefore(e, f);          }      }(document.createElement('script'),          document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],          'https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/clutchpoints-clutchpoints/trk.js',          'tb_loader_script');      if (window.performance) {          if (typeof window.performance.mark == 'function') {            window.performance.mark('tbl_ic');          }        }</script></iframe></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers’ Alex Caruso releases exclusive ‘Championship Collection’ merch

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Lakers-news-Alex-Caruso-reacts-to-L.A.jpg"></figure><h1>Alex Caruso reacts to Lakers winning championship despite several detractors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-10-12T07:50:21-07:00">October 12th, 7:50am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-10-14T14:20:20-07:00">October 14th, 2:20pm</time><address><a>Paolo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It now seems a distant memory from the time that the experts and the analysts declared earlier in the season that the Los Angeles Lakers simply did not have what it takes to go all the way this year. Needless to say, the Lakers just proved all their doubters wrong, and for his part, Alex Caruso turns to be one that is not easy to forget.</p><p>In his post-game interview, Caruso gave his thoughts on L.A.’s many detractors early on:</p><blockquote>“I don’t think a lot of people thought we could do it,” Caruso said, via <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanWardLA/status/1315485609557975040">Ryan Ward</a>. “A lot of people picked some other teams in the West. A couple teams in the East. Said we didn’t have enough role players. Said LeBron was too old.”</blockquote><p>We see no lies here. Even throughout the playoffs, more than a few folks still doubted the Lakers’ ability to win the title. It wasn’t until the Milwaukee Bucks and the Los Angeles Clippers were eliminated that the same experts and analysts picked the Lakers as the favorites. But even then, the criticism did not end.</p><p>Nonetheless, that’s all water under the bridge now, and for Caruso, he’s just happy to be part of history now.</p><p>When asked what he believes was one of the most important factors in L.A.’s historic title run, the 26-year-old had a straightforward answer:</p><blockquote>“Defense wins championships,” Caruso added. “That’s not some BS. That’s a real thing.”</blockquote><p>Caruso was huge for the Lakers on Sunday, following head coach Frank Vogel’s decision to insert him into the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-alex-caruso-replacing-dwight-howard-starting-lineup-game-6-heat/" rel="noopener noreferrer">starting lineup</a>. While he did not light up the box score, the energy and hustle he brought played a key role in the championship-clinching win.</p><figure class="op-tracker"><iframe><script>  (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){  (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),  m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)  })(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');  ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', 'auto');  ga('set', 'campaignSource', 'Facebook');  ga('set', 'campaignMedium', 'Instant Article');  ga('set', 'title', ia_document.title);  ga('send', 'pageview');</script><script type="text/javascript">      window._taboola = window._taboola || [];      _taboola.push({          article: 'auto',          ref_url: 'http://instantarticles.fb.com'      });      !function (e, f, u, i) {          if (!document.getElementById(i)) {              e.async = 1;              e.src = u;              e.id = i;              f.parentNode.insertBefore(e, f);          }      }(document.createElement('script'),          document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],          'https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/clutchpoints-clutchpoints/trk.js',          'tb_loader_script');      if (window.performance) {          if (typeof window.performance.mark == 'function') {            window.performance.mark('tbl_ic');          }        }</script></iframe></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso reacts to Lakers winning championship despite several detractors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Lakers-news-Alex-Caruso-Kyle-Kuzma-Dwight-Howard-go-full-shirtless-JR-Smith-after-winning-NBA-title-Thumbnail.jpg"></figure><h1>Lakers’ Alex Caruso, Kyle Kuzma, Dwight Howard go full shirtless JR Smith after winning NBA title</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-10-12T05:55:16-07:00">October 12th, 5:55am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-10-12T05:55:16-07:00">October 12th, 5:55am</time><address><a>Jeremy Chua</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Lakers’ latest acquisition in JR Smith celebrated his first title with the franchise in his own true fashion. Not only him, but also Alex Caruso, Kyle Kuzma, and Dwight Howard all followed in the footsteps of ‘shirtless JR’ during the postgame celebrations, as posted on <a href="https://twitter.com/BrotherHQ/status/1315488426054033408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fmeaww.com%2Fjr-smith-shirtless-photos-los-angeles-lakers-won-nba-championship-trophy">Twitter</a>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The influence of JR Smith cannot be overstated. <a target="_blank" href="https://t.co/hoNTqiYV5y">pic.twitter.com/hoNTqiYV5y</a></p><p>— BROTHER (@BrotherHQ) <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/BrotherHQ/status/1315488426054033408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The 2013 NBA Sixth Man of the Year had his shirt off even before <a href="https://meaww.com/jr-smith-shirtless-photos-los-angeles-lakers-won-nba-championship-trophy">Game 6</a> ended. With 15 seconds left in the clock, Smith was already celebrating bare-chested with his jersey out of sight. His <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-jr-smiths-savage-response-to-fan-saying-he-didnt-even-play/">meager</a> performance all throughout the playoffs didn’t stop him from being ecstatic for claiming the second championship ring of his career.</p><p>The New Jersey native first went full shirtless mode during the championship parade of the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2016. He went an entire week without a shirt to celebrate the first title of his playing career.</p><p>Contrary to the public’s expectations, Smith didn’t cause a distraction to the Lakers’ championship hopes. He also saw little action on the floor, averaging two points over ten games played in the 2020 NBA Playoffs.</p><p>Basketball fans on Twitter also bombarded him with memes for his meager contributions for the Purple and Gold during their championship run:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">JR Smith grabbing the trophy first like he did something 🤣🤣🤣 LETS GO LAKERS!! 💛💜🔥 <a target="_blank" href="https://t.co/2ojhkXleUM">pic.twitter.com/2ojhkXleUM</a></p><p>— Lily🦋 (@Lilyhasrice) <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/Lilyhasrice/status/1315474873981042688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Imagine jr Smith being the first to lift the trophy 🤣🤣🤣 <a target="_blank" href="https://t.co/1EmNhMhE5G">pic.twitter.com/1EmNhMhE5G</a></p><p>— K (@kansolele1) <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/kansolele1/status/1315475343625469952?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Smith was acquired by the Lakers on July 1, 2020, for the remainder of the 2020 NBA season. Prior to the agreement, he was involved in a long lay-off with the Cavaliers where he played from 2015 to 2019.</p><p>No one knows if Smith will be able to find himself on an NBA roster next season but he will surely be kicking it back and enjoying his first title with the Lakers for the meantime.</p><figure class="op-tracker"><iframe><script>  (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){  (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),  m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)  })(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');  ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', 'auto');  ga('set', 'campaignSource', 'Facebook');  ga('set', 'campaignMedium', 'Instant Article');  ga('set', 'title', ia_document.title);  ga('send', 'pageview');</script><script type="text/javascript">      window._taboola = window._taboola || [];      _taboola.push({          article: 'auto',          ref_url: 'http://instantarticles.fb.com'      });      !function (e, f, u, i) {          if (!document.getElementById(i)) {              e.async = 1;              e.src = u;              e.id = i;              f.parentNode.insertBefore(e, f);          }      }(document.createElement('script'),          document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],          'https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/clutchpoints-clutchpoints/trk.js',          'tb_loader_script');      if (window.performance) {          if (typeof window.performance.mark == 'function') {            window.performance.mark('tbl_ic');          }        }</script></iframe></figure></article>    </body></html>

Lakers’ Alex Caruso, Kyle Kuzma, Dwight Howard go full shirtless JR Smith after winning NBA title

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Alex-Caruso-replacing-Dwight-Howard-in-starting-lineup-for-Game-6-vs.-Heat-2.jpg"></figure><h1>Report: Alex Caruso replacing Dwight Howard in Lakers’ starting lineup for Game 6 vs. Heat</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-10-11T13:31:43-07:00">October 11th, 1:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-10-11T16:15:24-07:00">October 11th, 4:15pm</time><address><a>Jason Patt</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel is replacing center Dwight Howard in the starting lineup with guard Alex Caruso for Game 6 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat on Sunday, <a href="https://twitter.com/Stadium/status/1315387653156753409" rel="noopener noreferrer">per Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic.</a></p><p>The Lakers are trying to clinch title No. 17 by winning Game 6. Los Angeles fell just short in Game 5 against Miami, losing 111-108 in an instant classic. Jimmy Butler played the hero for the Heat, with LeBron James and Anthony Davis putting up monster performances in a tough loss. Danny Green missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds that could have given L.A. the championship.</p><p>With the Lakers looking for a different look in a 3-2 series, they’re going with a smaller lineup in Game 6. Howard has struggled to make an impact throughout these NBA Finals, and he was a total non-factor in Game 5. The veteran big man had just two points and two rebounds in 15 minutes.</p><p>For the series, Howard is averaging just 2.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 14.0 minutes per game. The Lakers have been outscored by 12 in Howard’s 70 minutes on the court against Miami.</p><p>Caruso didn’t fare much better in Game 5, going for three points, three rebounds and three assists. He’s averaging 6.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 23.3 minutes per game in the NBA Finals. The Lakers are a plus-4 in Caruso’s 112 Finals minutes, and his hustle and versatility is more of an asset against this Heat squad.</p><p>Caruso will join LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Danny Green in the starting lineup.</p><p>–</p><p><i>Follow ClutchPoints on <a href="https://twitter.com/clutchpointsapp" rel="noopener noreferrer">Twitter</a> &amp; <a href="https://www.instagram.com/clutchpoints/?hl=en" rel="noopener noreferrer">Instagram</a>, and like us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClutchPoints/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Facebook</a>. We can also be found on Flipboard where you can subscribe and follow us.</i></p><p><i>All of our NBA content can be found on the NBA section of the ClutchPoints home page <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba-news" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>. For all of our college basketball content, click <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ncaa-basketball/" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a>.</i></p><p><i>Follow NBA games live by downloading the <a href="https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clutchpoints-live-sports/id1044413150" rel="noopener noreferrer">ClutchPoints App</a> and heading to the scores tab under the NBA section.</i></p><p><i>You can listen and subscribe to the Battle for LA podcast on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/battle-for-la-podcast-clutchpoints/id1454992632" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5okIevNHpv8dWj4E9iciry" rel="noopener noreferrer">Spotify</a>, and <a href="https://soundcloud.com/battleforlaclutchpoints" rel="noopener noreferrer">Soundcloud</a>. You can also find new episodes of Battle for LA, the ClutchPoints NBA Podcast, and Establish the Pass under the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/podcast/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Podcast tab</a> on the ClutchPoints home page.</i></p><figure class="op-tracker"><iframe><script>  (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){  (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),  m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)  })(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');  ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', 'auto');  ga('set', 'campaignSource', 'Facebook');  ga('set', 'campaignMedium', 'Instant Article');  ga('set', 'title', ia_document.title);  ga('send', 'pageview');</script><script type="text/javascript">      window._taboola = window._taboola || [];      _taboola.push({          article: 'auto',          ref_url: 'http://instantarticles.fb.com'      });      !function (e, f, u, i) {          if (!document.getElementById(i)) {              e.async = 1;              e.src = u;              e.id = i;              f.parentNode.insertBefore(e, f);          }      }(document.createElement('script'),          document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],          'https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/clutchpoints-clutchpoints/trk.js',          'tb_loader_script');      if (window.performance) {          if (typeof window.performance.mark == 'function') {            window.performance.mark('tbl_ic');          }        }</script></iframe></figure></article>    </body></html>

Report: Alex Caruso replacing Dwight Howard in Lakers’ starting lineup for Game 6 vs. Heat

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Lakers-news-Alex-Caruso-has-the-perfect-answer-for-LA_s-_third-star_-question-Thumbnail-2.jpg"></figure><h1>Alex Caruso has the perfect answer for Lakers’ ‘third star’ question</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2020-10-07T07:13:55-07:00">October 7th, 7:13am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2020-10-07T07:16:11-07:00">October 7th, 7:16am</time><address><a>Mike Cruz</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Lakers have been searching for that proverbial “third star” to slot alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.</p><p>Alex Caruso <a href="https://twitter.com/NotoriousOHM/status/1313688010819473408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1313688010819473408%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D888810action%3Dedit" rel="noopener noreferrer">just offered the perfect take</a> for who that guy is for the Lakers:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Alex Caruso on the supporting cast stepping up to help LeBron James and Anthony Davis: “Our third star or [third] best player is whoever has the open shot… it is about being ready to shoot.”</p><p>— Ohm Youngmisuk (@NotoriousOHM) <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/NotoriousOHM/status/1313688010819473408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>So much for needing a third star. It seems like they never really needed one, with the Lakers just one win away from capturing the 2020 NBA championship. Lakers head coach Frank Vogel <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-frank-vogel-discloses-who-will-serve-3rd-option/" rel="noopener noreferrer">has made similar comments</a> in the past, so Caruso seems to be echoing his coach here.</p><p>The Lakers’ supporting cast stepped up big time in their 102-96 Game 4 win over the Miami Heat. LeBron James and Anthony Davis led the way with 28 points and 22 points, respectively.</p><p>Kentavious Caldwell-Pope contributed in a massive way for Los Angeles on Tuesday, going for 15 points, five assists. and three 3-pointers. KCP scored eight of the Lakers’ first 10 points and made a couple of crucial baskets to keep Miami at bay down the stretch.</p><p>The 6-foot-5 guard knocked down a huge corner triple with 2:58 remaining to give Los Angeles a five-point lead. He then followed that up with an aggressive drive to the hoop to extend their lead to seven with two minutes remaining in the game.</p><p>Aside from Caldwell-Pope, other guys such as Caruso himself, Rajon Rondo, Markieff Morris, and Kyle Kuzma also played well.</p><p>Rondo may have scored just two points, but he made some important hustle plays down the stretch that generated extra possessions for the Lakers. Caruso did his damage with his energy and disruption on the defensive end, while Kuzma and Morris knocked down a couple of triples for them throughout the game.</p><p>Obviously, the Lakers will need LeBron James and Anthony Davis to be at their best, especially as they attempt to close out a gutsy and determined Heat squad. Still, they will also need their “others” to step up if they want to capture banner No. 17.</p><figure class="op-tracker"><iframe><script>  (function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){  (i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),  m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)  })(window,document,'script','https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js','ga');  ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', 'auto');  ga('set', 'campaignSource', 'Facebook');  ga('set', 'campaignMedium', 'Instant Article');  ga('set', 'title', ia_document.title);  ga('send', 'pageview');</script><script type="text/javascript">      window._taboola = window._taboola || [];      _taboola.push({          article: 'auto',          ref_url: 'http://instantarticles.fb.com'      });      !function (e, f, u, i) {          if (!document.getElementById(i)) {              e.async = 1;              e.src = u;              e.id = i;              f.parentNode.insertBefore(e, f);          }      }(document.createElement('script'),          document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0],          'https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/clutchpoints-clutchpoints/trk.js',          'tb_loader_script');      if (window.performance) {          if (typeof window.performance.mark == 'function') {            window.performance.mark('tbl_ic');          }        }</script></iframe></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso news

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