It’s time for the Lakers to unleash Alex Caruso

Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

With each game that’s passed, it’s become clear that Frank Vogel needs to make Alex Caruso a bigger part of the rotation.

In any game where LeBron James scores 40 points, there are going to be a ton of highlights, and that was the case on Tuesday, when the Los Angeles Lakers hosted the New Orleans Pelicans at Staples Center.

However, everyone in the locker room was in agreement that the highlight of the night was when Alex Caruso hit LeBron James with a no-look, between-the-legs pass and James finished it with a ferocious one-hand slam over his former teammate, Josh Hart, in the second quarter.

If the fans at Staples Center weren’t awake before then, they were after that.

After the game, James said that he let Caruso know that he was “trailing middle” before Caruso made his no-look pass, but he couldn’t take credit for creativity and timing of Caruso’s the between-the-legs pass.

“Listen, myself and AC, we work well together, so for AC to be able to have eyes in the back of his head, and for me to able to finish it, it was a good play for our ball club — a moment play. Fans loved it, and it was great to be part of it,” James said.

That play sparked a run for the Lakers, who prior to that had blown a 14-point lead and let the Pelicans back into the game. During that second quarter run, the two-man lineup of James and Caruso had a team-best net rating of +62.5, and Caruso had a team-high net rating of +57.1.

In the words of Frank Vogel, he was “terrific.”

“He definitely gets a game ball tonight,” Vogel said. “Those plays you alluded to just really energized the crowd, which, in turn also energizes the group. He moves the needle, you know what I mean?”

Caruso’s built a reputation for coming in and energizing his teammates, and rightfully so, but he thinks the fans control the flow of the game as much as he does when the Lakers are playing in Los Angeles.

“I’m a big energy guy, as anyone who’s seen us play can attest to,” Caruso said. “Obviously every time we’re at Staples, they love me; I love playing here, so it’s really easy. It’s just a good give and take: They give great energy, I give great energy, and we kind of just bounce off of each other.”

But Caruso’s more than just an “energy guy” — he’s also really talented basketball player.

Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images

Caruso’s raw statistics haven’t been jaw-dropping this season. As a matter of fact, they’ve been pretty pedestrian.

Through 53 appearances for the Lakers this season, Caruso has averaged 5.6 points per game on 42.9% shooting from the field, including 35% from behind the arc, while averaging 1.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. There are dozens — if not hundreds — of players that are averaging less than 6 points per game on below 45% shooting from the field, so what makes Caruso so special?

For starters, his defense.

According to FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR metric, Caruso has the best overall defensive rating of any NBA point guard that has logged at least 800 minutes this season. Additionally, he’s ranked in the top-10 among any player — regardless of position — in defensive rating this season, according to NBA.com.

By nearly every metric, he’s an outstanding defender, and the Lakers have been a whole 4.8 points better per 100 possessions defensively with him on the floor this season, per Cleaning the Glass. Comparatively, the Lakers are 4.6 points worse per 100 possessions defensively when Rajon Rondo is on the floor.

Offensively, he’s still a work in progress, but the things he’s good at, like cutting to the basket, setting screens and playmaking, make him a tremendous fit next to James, and they both know it too.

“The both of us, we work well together and every minute that we’re on the floor we’re trying to make it productive,” James said after the Lakers’ win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday. “It’s a great combination for our ball club.”

“I think it’s me just being a smart player, and obviously LeBron’s really easy to play with,” Caruso added. “I mean, he’s LeBron James.”

Photo by Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

This season, the two-man lineup of James and Caruso has posted the highest net rating (+24.7) of any lineup Vogel has rolled out this season (minimum 200 minutes played). With James and Caruso on the floor, the Lakers have scored 117.9 points per 100 possessions, which is a better offensive rating than the Dallas Mavericks, who own the league’s best offensive rating (116.5). Defensively, no two-man lineup has posted a better defensive rating (93.2) than James and Caruso (minimum 300 minutes played).

In layman’s terms, the Lakers are at their best when Caruso and James on the court together, which is why Vogel has tethered Caruso’s minutes with James this month. Of the 136 minutes Caruso’s played in February, he’s played 70 of them with James.

“LeBron and Alex together is one of our best combinations this season from a net rating standpoint,” Vogel said on Friday. “We’ll continue to explore ways that we can make sure that’s getting out there enough without overdoing it.”

The area where Vogel runs into problems is his handling of Rondo, specifically when it comes to his minutes with James.

Given James and Rondo’s skillsets, there’s no reason that Rondo should have just 21 less minutes with James than Caruso has had this season. In an ideal world, Rondo and James would spend the minimum amount of time together, even with knowledge that they’ve been a net positive together this season (+11.1)

As Vogel continues to try and integrate Markieff Morris into the rotation, he should be mindful of how impactful Caruso’s been this season, and, to put it plainly, how much better than Rondo he’s been. In other words, the priority for Vogel going into the homestretch of the season should be giving more minutes to Caruso, not taking them.

It’s somewhat understandable that Vogel wants to keep Caruso his “secret weapon” until the postseason, but it would also benefit him from seeing what Caruso can do in a bigger role before then, for better or for worse. The last thing Vogel needs is to find out he can’t count on Caruso for more than 20 minutes in the middle of a playoff series.

Whether it’s next game or next week, it’s time for Vogel to let the “Bald Eagle” out of his cage.

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