It often feels like Alex Caruso is playing a completely different sport when he is really locked up. Basketball players need to be able to dribble, pass and shoot, and their skill set deficits tend to be exponentially exposed under the harsh spotlight of the NBA playoffs. Caruso has some abilities in these areas, but that’s not why he completely dominated the fourth quarter of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s historic comeback victory in Game 3 of the first round series against the Memphis Grizzlies.
Caruso is listed at 6’5, 186 pounds, so he’ll be two big point guards or smaller. For the Thunder, Caruso is a truly positional weapon, locking up a big man of all-nba caliber like Jalen Jackson Jr. with one possession, and tying the guard of the next Scotty Pippen Jr. The way Nikola Djokic sees the floor in the offense is how Caruso sees it in defense, moving one step ahead of everyone else and giving Oklahoma City a defender to beat the game of any situation. Caruso’s reputation as the best defensive specialist of his generation has solidified for years, but Game 3 showed everything that makes him special with a high-leverage game that goes down in a history book.
The Grizzlies led the Thunder 29 points in the first half of Game 3. The system was shocked after the Thunder scored 51 points in Game 1 and managed to win Game 2 without any issues. Memphis was robbed until Ja Morant was injured in the second quarter. As OKC slowly took the lead, Caruso entered the game like a shark smelling blood in the water, and the decimation of the Grizzlies attack was all sorts of things, like internal organs and gory.
The Thunder beat the Grizzlies 114-108 on Thursday night, moving up 3-0 in the first round series. Memphis scored just 31 points in the second half with a true shooting of 38.4%. Much of their struggle can be linked to Caruso’s nuclear defense playmaking.
Grizzlies players shot 15 of-15 when they matched up against Caruso in Game 3. According to NBA tracking data. He was credited with four steels and one block in his box score, but even that weakens his influence. Adding his seven deflections will start to get closer. The Grizzlies have led to Caruso being unable to fall into aggressive behavior without stopping the plan, leading to abandoning the enormous lead.
This is the defensive genius of Super Cut Caruso in the fourth quarter of Game 3. The variety in impact play is probably not consistent with other defenders in the NBA.
Jackson Jr. has nightmares about Caruso in the offseason. The Super Max contract he lines up helps him fall asleep comfortably after a while, but someone as big and talented as Jackson should not be trapped by someone like Caruso. Of course, that is the type of effect Caruso has, regardless of his mission.
Caruso is very short to the nominal power ahead, but he is not bullied. His chest and legs moved in unison, maintaining his position and giving him a strong center of gravity to fight through the typical throbbing of the post. When the ball is exposed, Caruso swipes with the razor’s sharp hand and jars it freely. This type of individual defense makes him a valuable piece for any competitor, but it is the veteran help defense that truly unleashes a new level of lightning.
Caruso is like a floor defensive coordinator, and has enough physical talent to recover while analyzing the action in a flash. His body and mind work together to make him the smartest and toughest player in any matchup at once.
With this ownership, the Grizzlies fell three with less than a minute left, Caruso pulls out the downhill drive by Desmond Bain off the screen and quickly rushes to recover to the Wing Man, quickly loosen the ball and enters with a hard two-handed dig. Coaches love to preach defense, but these skills cannot be taught.
This is another graph explaining how Carso had a defensive impact in Game 3. There’s no one like him.
Alex Caruso played 12:34 late last night, during which the Grizzlies had 35 chances to score and scored 13 points. He defended seven different players by collecting four steels and three deflections, causing havoc everywhere in general. pic.twitter.com/uyxobrh715
– Todd Whitehead (@crumpledjumper) April 25, 2025
Thunder had Caruso on the ice for most of the season after winning him in a summer trade with the Chicago Bulls. Caruso was a bit injured throughout most of his career. He needs to keep a very intense brand of basketball on the floor, taking into account his offensive limits. Caruso only played 52 games, and this year he averaged just over 19 minutes per game on Thunder. According to DEPM Metrics, he was still graded as the NBA’s best defender this season.
Thunder had the best defensive power of all time, even keeping him in a smaller role. OKC finished first in defensive ratings, allowing only 106.6 points per 100 possessions if the offense averaged 114.5 points per 100 this season. Now they unleash the full power of Caruso in the playoffs, and the early results are horrifying for opponents who get in their way.
Oklahoma City pulled a lifelong robber to seize Caruso from the Bulls for just Josh Giddy in a 1-1 deal. Giddey couldn’t play a year ago when his volatile defense and lack of shooting were cruelly exposed in the OKC playoffs. Giddey required a specific fit to achieve any kind of success, but Caruso is a natural plug-and-play option that perfectly complements the Thunder star. His skill set is purely additive, raising the ceiling of the Thunder, which is supposed to be a championship season.
Giddey posted some great numbers of statistics in Chicago this season later this year. someone You need to get these stats when you play as fast as the Bulls did this season. It’s hard to imagine Giddy being able to play in a game like Game 3 when Giddy slowed down in a game like Game 3 slowed down and the half court had a slimmer margin of creation. It shows the difference between growing Giddy’s floors for a bad team and growing Caruso’s ceilings for a great team. The deal has been “benefit for both parties” when viewed through the low expectations that defined bulls over the past 20 years.
Caruso’s talent has always been wasted on mid-season teams like Chicago who have never played a meaningful game. The big game brings out Caruso’s best and if he can stay healthy he will play for many of them due to lightning. He may not have a flashy skill set or a box score number paid to players, but Caruso influences winning at the highest level, making the Thunder a decisive championship favorite.
