Alex Caruso News: Brings defense in return

Caruso (hip) tallied two points (1-7 FG, 0-5 3Pt), five rebounds, three steals, two blocks and one assist in 26 minutes off the bench in Tuesday's 110-104 loss to the Spurs.

Despite missing the previous three games with right hip soreness, Caruso ended up seeing his most playing time of the season in his return to action Tuesday, as the Thunder had some more minutes available on the wing with Isaiah Joe (calf) sitting out and with Jalen Williams having been pushed up to center due to the team's injuries in the frontcourt. Caruso has gotten off to a brutal start to the season with his shooting, as he's converting at just a 29 percent clip from the field and 18.9 percent from three-point range, well below his career-long rates (43.5 and 37.3 percent, respectively). While Caruso's shooting should eventually rebound, for now, he looks to be strictly a streaming option for defensive stats in most leagues. He's averaging 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks in just 20.1 minutes per game over his 12 appearances.