The Thunder suffered their first season loss on Wednesday against the Denver Nuggets. They lost the game 122-124 after Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s game-tying layup attempt was blocked by Peyton Watson. The Thunder had their worst performance on defense this year, giving up multiple 20-point game performances for the first time. In addition, Russell Westbrook’s 29 points were the most a player has scored on this defense. Offensively, they had a bunch of uncharacteristic misses and mistakes. Shai had eight turnovers, which is very uncharacteristic for him. However, one person that has been struggling on offense all year has been Alex Caruso. Caruso’s struggles remained in this game, going 1-9 from the field with only two points.
Caruso was traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Thunder for Josh Giddey. He was brought in for his defense and as a better fit overall with this core on the offensive side. Through the first eight games, he only averages 2.6 points, shooting 23.7% from the field and 14.3% from three. These are nowhere near the numbers that the Thunder had hoped to get from him when they traded for him. Now, should the Thunder be concerned with Caruso’s early offensive struggles?
Should Alex Caruso’s Offensive Struggles Be a Concern for The Thunder?
Caruso Has Been Doing Everything Else Well on the Offensive End
Despite Caruso’s shooting his worst percentages from the field and from three in his entire career, he has played well on the offensive end. Caruso has been rebounding well for a guard, almost averaging three a game, and he has been a great facilitator to his teammates. His 2.5 assists per game, don’t show how well he has moved the ball around in this offense. Caruso hasn’t been a negative part of the offense, even with his shooting struggles.
When Caruso is on the court, their offense doesn’t stale out; it doesn’t look different, it flows the same. It flows smoothly despite his shooting wows because he does everything else on offense well. He is in the right position, moving without the ball, setting screens for players to get open, passing to the open guy, and rebounding. Ultimately, his offensive struggles would be more impactful if he didn’t do everything else that he has been doing on that side to make up for it.
He’s Been Getting Good Looks
When Caruso was brought to this team in the offense, his role was never going to be a scorer. The Thunder have multiple guys that can score Shai, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, and others. He was brought in for his defensive impact, and the offensive side was a bonus. Last year, he had a career year in Chicago, averaging 10.1 points per game, shooting 46.8% from the field and 40.8% from three. The Thunder weren’t expecting him to average 10.1 points per game here. However, they weren’t expecting him to shoot this badly either, and 2.6 points per game does feel overwhelming.
Even with all that said, the Thunder should feel very optimistic that he can turn this around. The reason for that is the looks that he has been getting, most of his shots have come through the flow of the offense. These are shots the Thunder want players to take, but unfortunately, they just haven’t been falling for Caruso. It isn’t like he is forcing his shots or taking really bad shots. Suppose he can keep taking these good shots through the flow of the offense, his shooting struggles should turn around this season.
His Elite Defense is Still There
Even though Alex Caruso has been struggling on the offensive side, the one thing that hasn’t changed is his defense. He is averaging 2.0 steals a game and nearly a block a game. His defensive impact has been felt by the Thunder through these first eight games. He has also played some small ball five and allowed the Thunder to have multiple defensive guards on the court at the same time. When the Thunder go to that lineup, it has been a problem for other teams on the offensive end, and they have struggled immensely. Caruso is a big reason why the Thunder have the best defense in the league and have a 96.5 defensive rating. As long as he keeps playing this elite level of defense, the shooting wows on the other end won’t affect the Thunder too much.
The Last Word
Finally, even though the Thunder shouldn’t be concerned with his shooting struggles yet. There is one thing that may affect them in the future, that is, in the playoffs, teams may leave him open if his struggles last till the playoffs. If they do that, they can cross-match or have more opportunities to double-team players like Shai. In this scenario, the Thunder may have to limit his minutes on the court in the playoffs, even with the defensive impact he gives. However, for right now, there shouldn’t be any worries about it, and the Thunder should feel optimistic that he will be able to turn these struggles around throughout the season.
