The Oklahoma City Thunder pushed the Denver Nuggets 125-93 in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals on Sunday. The whole process was a controversial series, but Thunder showed signs of growth and development, and their victory on Sunday was the adult moment for the young roster.
They will now face the Minnesota Timberwolves, which dismissed the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round in the Western Conference Finals.
The key factor in Oklahoma City's victory was defender Alex Caruso. He made a significant contribution on the bench at both ends of the floor, and in Game 7 he made five of seven shot attempts in 26 minutes, earning three assists and three steals in 26 minutes. This is his fifth double-digit score in the series, including 20 points in Game 1.
On Sunday, he was 40 points, making him the third player to post such an identity in Game 7 and the only player to do so on the bench.
It is also a carnival reminder to the Lakers and their fans that the organization did not make a mistake when signing a new contract with him in 2021.
Caruso is a diamond, a giant diamond signed in 2017 with two contracts. He played a key role in the Lakers who won the NBA championship in 2020 after showing hope in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.
But they underestimated him in summer 2021 contract negotiations, and he eventually signed a four-year, $37 million contract with the Chicago Bulls.
It was that summer, and the Lakers had a disastrous trade with Russell Westbrook and gave defender Talen Horton-Tucker, an extension of $32 million. Maybe they gave them an extension to Horton-Tucker, but there was little after that, and he was enough to keep Caruso in town.
To be clear, although some Lakers fans claimed in the 2019-20 season that he ranked among the All-Star fans in the Western Conference backcourt voted, he claimed that Caruso was not like some powerful All-Star players. He is a solid but inconsistent three-point shooter, and other than that, his offense is very limited.
But he is an outstanding defender, selected as the All-Defense First Team in the 2022-23 season and last year's all-Defense second team. At 6-foot-5 he can effectively guard guards of different sizes, the type of player who will sacrifice his body to follow loose balls and run games.
The Lakers' current iteration is very much needed for a quality two-way defender who can lock in opponents' backcourt players and start with Luka Doncic, who seems unable to guard the Turtles. Caruso would fit the bill, and even if he wasn't worthy of being on the starting lineup, he was a better option than Gabe Vincent, a more sporadic external shooter and unable to effectively protect the bigger defender.
If LeBron James is the CEO of the Lakers and Luka Doncic is the executive vice president, Caruso is the type of hardworking, selfless janitor who will always try to keep the glowing stuff clean when viewers at night. He doesn't care that he's the one who showers after get off work. He is just proud of his best work without attracting his own attention.
Caruso is on contract for the 2028-29 season, so fans shouldn't hold their breath. He keeps reminding him how to restore himself to its original state in the summer of 2021 at least a few years.