There have been a handful of role players throughout his illustrious career that LeBron James has just seemed to click with on another level. When it comes to his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, there is no one who fits that bill more than Alex Caruso, who of course is now a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
James and Caruso were always on the same page in their time together and the guard was hugely instrumental in the Lakers’ run to the 2020 NBA Championship. But now being on the other side as James’ opponent in the postseason, Caruso still has nothing but high praise for his former teammate, making it very clear that the 41-year-old is still more than capable of dominating a game on any night.
“Yeah, it’s different just knowing and understanding that he’s always ready for the moment,” Caruso told reporters when asked how it feels to be facing James in the postseason.
“Everyone likes to talk about his age but it’s still LeBron James. He’s still very capable of being the best player on the court any given night that he’s playing the game. Just having that respect for him and then understanding that he’s very smart and uses the game to his advantage a lot with putting guys in position to create advantage and then take away advantage on the other end.”
James proved Caruso’s point in the Lakers’ first round series against the Houston Rockets when he was easily the best player in the series and orchestrated things beautifully throughout the upset win. And even though the Lakers came up short in Game 1 against the Thunder, James was once again outstanding with a game-high 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting along with six assists.
Caruso will be one of many Thunder defenders tasked with slowing down James in this series and he understands that is no easy feat. Even though he has lost a little athleticism, James’ brain and basketball IQ is still amongst the game’s elite and that alone makes him very dangerous in a playoff series.
LeBron James discusses Lakers’ offensive struggles
Of course, the Lakers need James to control the offense as they remain without superstar Luka Doncic due to injury. And following the Game 1 loss, James discussed how his absence makes things so much more difficult for the Lakers offensively, though he still felt they were able to generate some good looks in that contest.
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