But although Caruso has undoubtedly contributed to the Thunder’s dominant D so far this year, he’s provided whatever the opposite of a spark is on offense. He’s shooting 27.1% from the floor and 18.5% from 3, has a -4.4 offensive Estimated RAPTOR and OKC scores 9.8 fewer points per 100 with him on the court versus off. Perhaps not coincidentally — and granting that he’s also playing for a much better team now — Caruso’s minutes per game have dipped from a career-high 28.7 in Chicago last season to just 19.5 so far this year in OKC. The good news for OKC (and Caruso specifically) is that shot-making is prone to huge random swings in a small sample. Given their wealth of offensive weapons, from trigger-men SGA and Jalen Williams to shooters like Wallace, Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins, the Thunder should be making a lot more 3s — and shots in general — than they are right now. While we may look back on Caruso’s 2023-24 season as a career year in terms of offensive effectiveness,1 he has a history as an above-average deep shooter. -via Neil Paine’s Substack / November 12, 2024
Alex Caruso expected to sign contract extension with Thunder
