With the NBA Restart on the horizon, we are going to take stock of who is on the Los Angeles Lakers, what they did, or didn’t do this season, and what to look for as the Lakers look to march towards their 17th championship banner in the most unprecedented circumstances in NBA history.

Alex Caruso

Due to the injury and subsequent surgery for Rajon Rondo, many Lakers fans have been expressed their desire to see an expanded role for fan-favorite Alex Caruso. And Caruso might well have a chance to have the ball in his hands more without Rondo, but what they really need from Caruso, more than taking the reigns of the offense when LeBron sits, is more of what he displayed throughout the regular season.

Caruso’s defense and ability to blend in on the offensive end with star players is what they need the most. His usage rate for a guard ranks in the 8th percentile, according to Cleaning The Glass, so he’s asked to handle it less often than 90% of the guards in the league. Changing that now seems unwise. Asking for Caruso to have the ball more or take more shots also undercuts what he’s so great at. Caruso has been a solid spot-up player, while also being ranked in the 76th percentile in transition opportunities and in the 55th percentile in plays on cuts.

This is the exact type of player that LeBron James can leverage in a situation in which the defense’s attention is locked in on him. While everyone knows that shooters are a key to unlocking LeBron, and Caruso is a solid career 37.5% 3-point shooter, it’s some of the other things that make Caruso even more useful.

Also, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the frontrunner to start for the Lakers, but without Avery Bradley, we will almost certainly see Caruso and KCP play more together. KCP is a better individual defender and has been a much better shooter from distance in his career. Nevertheless, playing Caruso and KCP together has been a strong look for the Lakers, outscoring opponents by 10.4 points per 100 possessions in 506 minutes over 56 games. While Vogel is intrigued by what Dion Waiters will do in the Rondo role, it’s very possible we see three-guard lineups with Waiters, KCP, and Caruso, as all guys can guard multiple positions.

And back to LeBron being able to take advantage of Caruso, this is the second straight season in which the LeBron-Caruso pairing has been fruitful for L.A. In fact, this year they’ve been twice as good as they were last year, outscoring opponents by 20.8 points per 100 possessions in 485 minutes over 54 games.

Caruso put up some great counting stats at the end of the 2018-19 season when the Lakers let him handle the ball more, but the Lakers aren’t just playing out the string and waiting to trade for Anthony Davis anymore. This is the big time. The Lakers don’t need Caruso to do anything else than what he’s done this season. His athleticism, defense, and willingness to play hard without touching the ball is exactly the type of thing the Lakers need.

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