Alex Caruso has once again played well enough in short stints with the Los Angeles Lakers that he has people wondering why he wasn’t given more of an opportunity while games still mattered. Last season, it was because Tyler Ennis was asked to fulfill point guard duties while Lonzo Ball missed a good chunk of the season and couldn’t. This season, it’s been because Rajon Rondo saw Ennis play last season and told him to hold his beer.
Despite the statistical performance and glowing reviews he’s been received lately, Caruso says the focus is still on what he can do for the team (via Spectrum SportsNet):
With all due respect to Caruso (who is absolutely saying all the right things, mind you), it’s hard to win games when the point guard starting over you is quite literally the NBA’s worst player right now. It’s crazy that now for two consecutive seasons we can make that exact same assessment.
It will be interesting to see how Luke Walton handles the rotation now that Scott Machado is on the roster. In theory, this could mean Rondo loses his spot altogether in the rotation now that there are two able-bodied point guards available for Walton to choose from and LeBron James is still around to be the de facto lead ball-handler whenever he’s out there.
Seeing as this season just keeps on offering more torturous ways to watch this sport we love, however, this likely means that Caruso’s minutes will go down so as to see what Machado can bring to the table. Good lord this year needs to end already.
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