Alex Caruso gets 100% real on his Thunder role

INDIANAPOLIS — As the only player with a championship ring in his trophy case, Oklahoma City Thunder veteran Alex Caruso showed his teammates what winning looks like on and off the floor during the regular season. In his first season with the Thunder, Caruso is the elder statesman on his team. He was also one of the youngest players on the 2020 champion Los Angeles Lakers. Now, he’s on the brink of eliminating the Indiana Pacers.

Caruso thrives in his role as one of the Thunder’s stifling defenders in the backcourt. He’s helped his team secure wins throughout its postseason run, including games against the Pacers in their best-of-7 series. Ahead of Game 6, Caruso addressed his approach and how it’s adapted to his new surroundings with this year’s Thunder squad.

“Usually the game tells me what to do and I think that’s probably why I fit in so well with this team this year,” Caruso said. “I think there was a clear opportunity and role for me and the skillset that I bring, and through the playoffs, I’ve just been trying to focus on that. Each game is figured out. Obviously, I have to play to a certain energy level and standard throughout the game. Sometimes the ball finds me twelve times, and I shoot, and sometimes it goes in.

“Other times, like the other night, it didn’t. And I had four steals and made some hustle plays. Just trying to win the games. Whatever the game tells me to do, that’s usually what I gotta show up for,” Caruso concluded.

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