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Forget the first 82 games. Alex Caruso’s season doesn’t start until mid-April.
Playoff AC is a different beast.
After the end of each season, The Oklahoman publishes a series of report cards on each of the Thunder’s main roster players. Grades will be curved relative to role and expectations.
Next up: Alex Caruso.
More: Thunder NBA mock draft roundup: What will OKC do with three picks?
56 games, 18.2 minutes, 6.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals, 42.3% FG, 29.3% 3FG, 80.4% FT
29.3%: A career-low 3-point percentage for the ninth-year veteran. He shot 17.9% from 3 (7 of 39) across 13 games in March. Among the 307 players who attempted at least 100 3-pointers, Caruso ranked 288th in percentage.
44.6%: Caruso’s playoff 3-point percentage. So yeah, who cares what he shot in the regular season. Caruso, in two years with the Thunder, has shot 32% from 3 in the regular season and 43% in the playoffs. He led the Thunder in 3-point makes (33) this postseason.
18.2: Minutes per game for Caruso — his fewest since his rookie season (2017-18) with the Lakers. He played 23.5 minutes per game in the playoffs. Caruso has played in 54 and 56 regular season games the last two seasons. The Thunder has been intentional in making sure the 32-year-old is fresh come playoff time.
0: Starts for Caruso — a first for him as a pro. He’s only made three starts in 110 games with the Thunder.
31: Caruso scored 31 points in the Thunder’s Game 1 double-overtime loss to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. He scored 22 points in the Thunder’s Game 5 win against the Spurs. In 69 career playoff games, those are his two highest-scoring games.
More: Revisiting OKC Thunder bold predictions, what I got right (and mostly wrong) | Mussatto
Alex Caruso would’ve been a dark-horse candidate to win Western Conference Finals MVP had the Thunder beaten the Spurs in Game 7. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Game 7 heroics probably would’ve clinched it, but Caruso was, at worst, OKC’s second-best player in the series (which was kind of the problem).
Caruso averaged 14.9 points in the Spurs series on 48/50/82 shooting splits. He was 20 for 40 from 3-point range. Caruso was unafraid to take the big shot and was undeterred by Victor Wembanyama.
Caruso is the ultimate playoff riser. It doesn’t matter how poorly he shoots or how little he plays in the regular season. The Thunder knows what it’s getting from Caruso in the biggest of games.
Incredible defense. Maniacal hustle. Timely shots.
More: OKC Thunder roster faces pivotal 2026 NBA offseason. Where does each player stand?
Would you like him to shoot better than 29% from 3 in the regular season? Sure.
For as otherworldly as Caruso was in Games 1, 2, 3 and 5 against the Spurs, he had a few duds in Games 4, 6 and 7 — all losses.
Caruso was scoreless, and played only 14 minutes, in Game 4. No Thunder player showed up in Game 6. And in Game 7, Caruso went cold. He shot 3 of 14 (1 of 6 from 3). He had as many turnovers as made baskets.
More: Why Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum is displaying a Knicks jersey after NBA title
Get dialed in for the American Century Championship. That’s a celebrity golf tournament, by the way. The celebrity golf tournament.
It’s scheduled for July 8-12 at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Nevada.
Caruso claims to have a 5 handicap.
“I could probably roll out on an average golf course and shoot 80 right now,” he said in his exit interview. “I had three summers of practice in Chicago.”
The Bulls weren’t exactly playing deep into the playoffs.
OK, but what about the whole basketball part of Caruso’s offseason?
I’d say whatever he’s doing has worked. He doesn’t have to be at his best for another 10 months.
Thunder mock draft 1.0: Which Michigan player makes sense for Sam Presti, OKC at No. 12?
The playoff factor weighs heavily here. Caruso elevates his game from the regular season to the postseason more than any player on the roster. Two years running.
Last season’s grade: A+
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at [email protected]. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Alex Caruso report card: Thunder vet still ultimate NBA Playoff riser
Continue reading...
Playoff AC is a different beast.
After the end of each season, The Oklahoman publishes a series of report cards on each of the Thunder’s main roster players. Grades will be curved relative to role and expectations.
Next up: Alex Caruso.
More: Thunder NBA mock draft roundup: What will OKC do with three picks?
Alex Caruso by the numbers
56 games, 18.2 minutes, 6.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.3 steals, 42.3% FG, 29.3% 3FG, 80.4% FT
29.3%: A career-low 3-point percentage for the ninth-year veteran. He shot 17.9% from 3 (7 of 39) across 13 games in March. Among the 307 players who attempted at least 100 3-pointers, Caruso ranked 288th in percentage.
44.6%: Caruso’s playoff 3-point percentage. So yeah, who cares what he shot in the regular season. Caruso, in two years with the Thunder, has shot 32% from 3 in the regular season and 43% in the playoffs. He led the Thunder in 3-point makes (33) this postseason.
18.2: Minutes per game for Caruso — his fewest since his rookie season (2017-18) with the Lakers. He played 23.5 minutes per game in the playoffs. Caruso has played in 54 and 56 regular season games the last two seasons. The Thunder has been intentional in making sure the 32-year-old is fresh come playoff time.
0: Starts for Caruso — a first for him as a pro. He’s only made three starts in 110 games with the Thunder.
31: Caruso scored 31 points in the Thunder’s Game 1 double-overtime loss to the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. He scored 22 points in the Thunder’s Game 5 win against the Spurs. In 69 career playoff games, those are his two highest-scoring games.
More: Revisiting OKC Thunder bold predictions, what I got right (and mostly wrong) | Mussatto
The good
Alex Caruso would’ve been a dark-horse candidate to win Western Conference Finals MVP had the Thunder beaten the Spurs in Game 7. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Game 7 heroics probably would’ve clinched it, but Caruso was, at worst, OKC’s second-best player in the series (which was kind of the problem).
Caruso averaged 14.9 points in the Spurs series on 48/50/82 shooting splits. He was 20 for 40 from 3-point range. Caruso was unafraid to take the big shot and was undeterred by Victor Wembanyama.
Caruso is the ultimate playoff riser. It doesn’t matter how poorly he shoots or how little he plays in the regular season. The Thunder knows what it’s getting from Caruso in the biggest of games.
Incredible defense. Maniacal hustle. Timely shots.
More: OKC Thunder roster faces pivotal 2026 NBA offseason. Where does each player stand?
The bad
Would you like him to shoot better than 29% from 3 in the regular season? Sure.
For as otherworldly as Caruso was in Games 1, 2, 3 and 5 against the Spurs, he had a few duds in Games 4, 6 and 7 — all losses.
Caruso was scoreless, and played only 14 minutes, in Game 4. No Thunder player showed up in Game 6. And in Game 7, Caruso went cold. He shot 3 of 14 (1 of 6 from 3). He had as many turnovers as made baskets.
More: Why Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum is displaying a Knicks jersey after NBA title
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Alex Caruso offseason homework
Get dialed in for the American Century Championship. That’s a celebrity golf tournament, by the way. The celebrity golf tournament.
It’s scheduled for July 8-12 at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course in Nevada.
Caruso claims to have a 5 handicap.
“I could probably roll out on an average golf course and shoot 80 right now,” he said in his exit interview. “I had three summers of practice in Chicago.”
The Bulls weren’t exactly playing deep into the playoffs.
OK, but what about the whole basketball part of Caruso’s offseason?
I’d say whatever he’s doing has worked. He doesn’t have to be at his best for another 10 months.
Thunder mock draft 1.0: Which Michigan player makes sense for Sam Presti, OKC at No. 12?
Alex Caruso grade: A
The playoff factor weighs heavily here. Caruso elevates his game from the regular season to the postseason more than any player on the roster. Two years running.
Last season’s grade: A+
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at [email protected]. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Alex Caruso report card: Thunder vet still ultimate NBA Playoff riser
Continue reading...
