<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/mark-daigneault-honest-review-josh-giddey-alex-caruso-trade-months-later');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mark Daigneault’s honest review of Josh Giddey-Alex Caruso Thunder trade months later');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/THUNDER-NEWS-MARK-DAIGNEAULTS-HONEST-REVIEW-OF-JOSH-GIDDEY-ALEX-CARUSO-TRADE-MONTHS-LATER.jpg"></figure><h1>Mark Daigneault’s honest review of Josh Giddey-Alex Caruso Thunder trade months later</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-31T12:04:40-07:00">March 31st, 12:04pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-31T15:00:06-07:00">March 31st, 3:00pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey returns to the Paycom Center for the first time since the Oklahoma City Thunder traded him for Alex Caruso, which head coach Mark Daigneault revisited before Monday’s matchup.</p><p>After his first three seasons, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-josh-giddey-trade-explanation-sam-presti">Thunder traded Giddey to the Bulls during the offseason</a>, granting Josh an increased role with Chicago while supplementing Oklahoma City with a veteran three-and-D guard with a championship pedigree.</p><p>Nearly an entire season into the deal, Daigneault <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSgegAEwB2A" rel="noopener">believes</a> it’s a move that’s been mutually beneficial for all parties involved.</p><p>“Well, I haven’t seen a ton of them with my eyes, but obviously I’ve seen his numbers, and he’s playing great,” Daigneault said. “Trades are inherently mutually beneficial, and I think that’s one where both teams benefit, and both players benefited.</p><p>“Alex ended up in a situation that he wanted to be in. Josh is obviously able to play a role there that shows his talent in a contract year, and he is maximizing that. We’re certainly happy for him. Not surprised. He was a really talented player, but we’re happy for him.”</p><p>Giddey is producing some of the best averages of his career this season, including assists (6.9), steals (1.2), and blocks (0.6), while averaging 14.2 points and shooting at a career-best 38% clip from three.</p><p>The same can’t be said about Caruso from a statistical standpoint. However, his defensive presence undoubtedly strengthens the Thunder’s second unit, which makes Oklahoma City one of the deepest teams in the NBA.</p><p>For Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault, the deal for Alex Caruso was a win/win.</p><h2><b>Jalen Williams reacts to Josh Giddey’s return vs. Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/THUNDER-ALL-STAR-JALEN-WILLIAMS-NEXT-TO-THUNDERS-JOSH-GIDDEY.jpg"><figcaption>Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder All-Star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-jalen-williams-drops-awesome-take-josh-giddey-success-bulls">Jalen Williams is excited to see Josh Giddey</a> in Monday’s matchup against the Bulls. Williams spent his first two seasons in the NBA with Giddey as his teammate.</p><p>While Williams is happy for Giddey’s success with the Bulls, he’s not taking a reunion with his former teammate lightly, as Josh will make his first visit to the Paycom Center as part of the visiting team.</p><p>“I’m excited,” Williams said. “It’s always fun playing against Gid, and I think, obviously, whenever we’re playing against a former teammate, you try really hard not to make it a you versus you but Thunder versus the Bulls.”</p><p>Still, Williams will undoubtedly cherish seeing his former teammate.</p><p>“It’s always good to see familiar faces, man,” Williams added. “You don’t know when the next time is you’ll see somebody, and you try not to take those moments for granted.”</p><p>The Thunder will look to extend their winning streak to 10.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mark Daigneault’s honest review of Josh Giddey-Alex Caruso Thunder trade months later

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-jaylin-williams-injuries-grizzlies-clash');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder lose Alex Caruso, Jaylin Williams to injuries in Grizzlies clash');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Thunder-news-OKC-loses-Alex-Caruso-Jaylin-Williams-to-injuries-in-Grizzlies-clash.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder lose Alex Caruso, Jaylin Williams to injuries in Grizzlies clash</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-27T20:27:07-07:00">March 27th, 8:27pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-28T08:32:16-07:00">March 28th, 8:32am</time><address><a>Kendall Capps</a>Kendall Capps is a multi-media journalist and editor who is overly passionate about all sports (to his wife's dismay). He's a Senior Editor at ClutchPoints who previously managed SB Nation's golf vertical. He has also done work for FantasyPros and co-hosted the Lay The Points podcast as part of a decade-long career in sports entertainment.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City Thunder hosted the Memphis Grizzlies in a battle of Western Conference supremacy on Thursday night. In what turned out to be a wild, back-and-forth game, the Thunder ultimately prevailed, 125-104. The win improved their record to a league-best 61-12. However, it might prove to be a costly victory, as two crucial bench pieces left early with injury.</p><p>Jaylin Williams left after playing just eight minutes and is dealing with left hip stiffness. He finished with three points and three rebounds. Not long afterward, Alex Caruso was ruled out for the rest of the game. Caruso was reportedly <a href="https://x.com/SteveMcGehee/status/1905440801854742775" rel="noopener">dealing with lower back soreness</a>, according to Thunder reporter Steve McGehee.</p><p>Caruso logged just 10 minutes before departing. He ended his night with six points, three rebounds, an assist, and a block.</p><p>Thankfully for Oklahoma City, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/thunder-news-candace-parker-gives-shai-gilgeous-alexander-mvp-flowers">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander reminded everyone why he is the favorite for NBA MVP</a>. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 37 points on 15-for-25 from the floor. He chipped in with six assists, three rebounds, and three steals.</p><p>The Thunder’s other Williams, Jalen Williams, added 20 points. But the difference in the game came on the other end of the floor.</p><p>Oklahoma City’s defense held Memphis to 41.8 percent shooting (33-79), with the Grizzlies committing 18 turnovers. Desmond Bane, the best offensive option with Ja Morant still out with injury, was completely shut down. Bane finished with three points on 1-for-12 shooting.</p><p>The game was up for grabs entering the fourth quarter. OKC led by two points, but outscored Memphis 34-15 in the final stanza to pull away.</p><p>There is no immediate word on either Caruso or Williams’ status. But given the relative lack of seriousness to the listed injuries, it is expected they will be listed day-to-day. The Thunder host the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder lose Alex Caruso, Jaylin Williams to injuries in Grizzlies clash

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-makes-winner-alex-caruso-claim-beating-clippers');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Mark Daigneault makes ‘winner’ Alex Caruso claim after beating Clippers');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Thunder-news-Mark-Daigneault-makes-winner-Alex-Caruso-claim-after-beating-Clippers.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder’s Mark Daigneault makes ‘winner’ Alex Caruso claim after beating Clippers</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-24T15:48:02-07:00">March 24th, 3:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-24T15:48:02-07:00">March 24th, 3:48pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Clippers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault leaned heavily on Alex Caruso’s defensive versatility in Sunday’s 103-101 win against the Los Angeles Clippers. Before All-Star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-drops-truth-bomb-game-saving-hero-clippers">Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pointed out Caruso’s impact</a>, Daigneault explained what made that impact so critical in the Thunder’s latest win. With All-Star Jalen Williams (hip) ruled out, Caruso was added to the starting lineup before clocking in a season-high 31 minutes.</p><p>Daigneault <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7AydgVl3iM&amp;t=229s" rel="noopener">highlighted</a> Caruso’s ability to guard three Clippers’ starting lineup members.</p><p>“He’s just such a winner. He’s got great competitive instincts. Great situational awareness. He’s also present in the game. He’s never distracted by how the game’s going for him,” Daigneault said. “He just plays the next play the same way. The defensive versatility and intellect is also huge. To be able to put him on Leonard. Move him to Harden. We started him on Zubac a couple of possessions and switched him. He can do anything on that end of the floor.</p><p>“So, he was very good tonight. It was his season-high for minutes. I was pleased to see how he handled that load and a great game out of him,” Daigneault concluded.</p><p>Caruso contributed 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, and two critical defensive stops in the final minute of the Thunder’s 103-101 win over the Clippers. He also helped limit Clippers’ James Harden to 4-of-14 attempts (17 points), while Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 26 points and eight assists led the charge for Oklahoma City.</p><p>Aaron Wiggins’ 19 points led the bench, Isaiah Hartenstein had a double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds), and Jaylin Williams netted a dozen points. Still, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-shai-gilgeous-alexander-high-praise-this-western-conference-rival" rel="noopener">Gilgeous-Alexander says the Clippers are a legitimate contender</a> and should be considered as such in the Western Conference.</p><h2><b>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s take on Alex Caurso’s role with Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Thunder-All-Star-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander_061012.jpg"><figcaption>Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault’s praise, Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander discussed Alex Caruso’s leadership. As the only Thunder player with a championship ring, Gilgeous-Alexander says his veteran presence is felt in the team’s locker room.</p><p>“He’s always vocal. He’s always making sure that we’re doing things, no matter what the game looks like, to head in the direction where we want to go,” Gilgeous-Alexander added. “He holds the group accountable in that way, regardless if it’s a team that’s not going to make the playoffs and is playing their last couple of games of the season. Or it’s a playoff team fighting for seeding.</p><p>“Regardless of what it is. We have to play to a certain standard, and I think that’s been like his main message since the All-Star break,” Gilgeous-Alexander concluded.</p><p>The Thunder extended their winning streak to six.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Mark Daigneault makes ‘winner’ Alex Caruso claim after beating Clippers

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-reveals-why-luka-doncic-cade-cunningham');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Alex Caruso reveals why he sees Luka Doncic in Cade Cunningham');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Thunder-news-Alex-Caruso-reveals-why-he-sees-Luka-Doncic-in-Cade-Cunningham.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder’s Alex Caruso reveals why he sees Luka Doncic in Cade Cunningham</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-15T15:42:02-07:00">March 15th, 3:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-15T15:42:02-07:00">March 15th, 3:42pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Pistons</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Before facing Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso compared the former to Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic. The defensive specialist sees similarities between the two. Coming off the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-why-shai-gilgeous-alexander-think-beating-celtics-huge">Thunder’s huge win against the champion Boston Celtics</a>, Caruso explained what makes Cunningham such a unique player.</p><p>For many, Doncic is considered a top-five NBA talent. While Caruso <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewvydovxDDQ" rel="noopener">agrees</a> that Cunningham still has ways to go before reaching Luka’s level, he sees a familiar style in the Pistons’ first-year All-Star guard.</p><p>“I don’t want to throw out too many comparisons, but just with his size and skillset, he’s got a little bit of Luka [Doncic],” Caruso said. “Obviously, Luka’s a very special, unique player. He’s got six [NBA] First Team or five First Teams in his first however many years in the league. That’s a high standard, but he’s got a little bit of that. Big guard, main handler, can shoot, can post up, good at drawing fouls; he kind of plays in the midrange, too. He’s got a little bit of everything.”</p><p>Alex Caruso, who played for the Chicago Bulls before his trade to the Thunder, had an up-close look at Cunningham while defending him in the Eastern Conference’s Central Division.</p><p>“His pace has really slowed down. I saw it last year a little bit, playing against him in his first year. Then, last year, he’s a big guard,” Caruso said. “He’s like six-seven. Probably 200-something pounds. He gets you on your hip and then gets to that 10-foot floater. He can post up on smaller guys. Then, this year, he’s shooting the three-ball well, which I think really complements his game.”</p><h2><b>Shai Gilgeous-Alexander says Thunder’s win versus Celtics is ‘huge’</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Thunder-All-Star-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander_e7fa8f.jpg"><figcaption>David Butler II-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder All-Star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-jalen-williams-reacts-couch-win-celtics">Jalen Williams reacted to Wednesday’s win </a><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-jalen-williams-reacts-couch-win-celtics" rel="noopener">over the Celtics</a>. After the victory, fellow Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rndooUxV5zw" rel="noopener">explained</a> its significance.</p><p>“It’s huge. Because they’ve done what we’re trying to do, the games are always going to be heightened. They’re always going to be a little more exciting,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “They’ve, like I say, achieved what we’re trying to accomplish. There’s no better test in the NBA. You play for late June, and they’re the team that won in late June. So, playing against them is always fun and is always a really big challenge.”</p><p>The Thunder will look to improve to 2-0 on their three-game road trip against the Pistons.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Alex Caruso reveals why he sees Luka Doncic in Cade Cunningham

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-100-honest-shai-gilgeous-alexander-nikola-jokic-mvp-battle');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alex Caruso gets 100% honest on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs Nikola Jokic MVP battle');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Thunder-news-Alex-Caruso-gets-100-honest-on-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-vs-Nikola-Jokic-MVP-battle.jpg"></figure><h1>Alex Caruso gets 100% honest on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs Nikola Jokic MVP battle</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-08T15:10:27-08:00">March 8th, 3:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-09T13:26:30-07:00">March 9th, 1:26pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The NBA’s top two candidates for the Most Valuable Player award — Oklahoma City Thunder’s All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Denver Nuggets’ All-Star Nikola Jokic — will face off on back-to-back nights at the Paycom Center. Thunder veteran guard <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-excited-test-against-championship-caliber-players" rel="noopener">Alex Caruso is thrilled about his team’s challenge</a> that starts Sunday afternoon. He discussed how significant this year’s MVP race is in Oklahoma City’s upcoming two games.</p><p>Are Gilgeous-Alexander’s teammates <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBa8c4_IVso&amp;t=144s" rel="noopener">feeling the pressure</a> to beat the Nuggets as both candidates gear towards the end of their MVP race?</p><p>“I don’t think so, and I don’t mean that in a sense, we don’t want him to get that edge, and we don’t want him to win because we think he’s obviously very deserving,” Caruso replied. “But a lot of our mantra as a team is play for the team, play to win, and at the end of the day, through that success, the individual accolades and awards will come. It’s not Shai deflecting and smoke-screening just to get the questions off. I truly think that’s how he views it.</p><p>“And that’s what makes him such a great leader for this team, and a great player to follow out there on the court is because he truly cares about winning, and he’s competitive in that. Obviously, it would be nice for him to get represented for the season he’s having. But, obviously, like I said earlier, I think he wants to do that through winning as well,” Caruso concluded.</p><p>The reigning two-time MVP Nikola Jokic is coming off recording the first 30/20/20 game after finishing with an incredible 31 points, 22 assists, and 21 rebounds in a 149-141 overtime win against the Phoenix Suns.</p><h2><b>Alex Caruso on a potential co-MVP award before Thunder matchup</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso-next-to-Thunders-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander-1.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>While leading the Western Conference standings (52-11), Alex Caruso is excited to face the Nuggets’ championship-caliber squad after helping the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-reveals-why-friday-win-great-program-win">Thunder beat the Trail Blazers 107-89 on Friday</a>. However, regarding the MVP conversation between Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Nikola Jokic, he’d like to see the NBA crown one victor instead of settling for co-MVPs.</p><p>Caruso shared his take after practice on Saturday.</p><p>“I’m a traditionalist. I like one winner,” Caruso said. “Someone’s having a better season; just pick it.”</p><p>Gilgeous-Alexander enters the Thunder’s back-to-back against the Nuggets leading the NBA in scoring with 32.8 points per game. He’s also second in steals (1.8), averaging 6.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds. Jokic, averaging 28.9 points per game, is third in scoring, second in assists (10.6), and third in rebounding (12.9) while averaging a triple-double for the Nuggets.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso gets 100% honest on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs Nikola Jokic MVP battle

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-excited-test-against-championship-caliber-players');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Alex Caruso is excited for Thunder’s test against ‘championship-caliber players’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Why-Alex-Caruso-is-excited-for-OKCs-test-against-championship-caliber-players.jpg"></figure><h1>Why Alex Caruso is excited for Thunder’s test against ‘championship-caliber players’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-08T14:18:26-08:00">March 8th, 2:18pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-08T14:18:26-08:00">March 8th, 2:18pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Alex Caruso and the Oklahoma City Thunder are gearing up for a back-to-back mini-series against the Denver Nuggets at the Paycom Center. Six players, including the entire starting lineup, sat out of Friday’s 107-89 win against the Portland Trail Blazers. Thunder head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-reveals-why-friday-win-great-program-win" rel="noopener">Mark Daigneault labeled it a great program win</a> for his team, which will look to extend its six-game winning streak in a two-game series against the Nuggets.</p><p>For Caruso, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBa8c4_IVso&amp;t=144s" rel="noopener">timing</a> is perfect for the Thunder.</p><p>“It’s just a good test for us, especially playing a noon game on Sunday. That’s something that the postseason brings that you might have. So, it’s a good opportunity to prepare for that, and then obviously the opponent, playing against such a good player in Jokic and a good team with championship-caliber players in history over the last couple of years,” Caruso said.</p><p>“They’re a good team. They know how to play. So for us, it’s going to be a great disciplined challenge, and just a great game for us the closer we get to postseason play,” Caruso concluded.</p><p>In 2023-24, the Thunder and Nuggets tied for the best record in the Western Conference. The two teams enter Sunday’s matinee with their season series tied, 1-1. Oklahoma City defeated the Nuggets 102-87 in their second game of the regular season, and Denver avenged its loss with a 124-122 win on November 6.</p><p>After a grueling two-week stretch of playing in nine different cities, including Oklahoma City, Daigneault gave his top-six rotation players a night off on Friday in preparation for their back-to-back against the Nuggets. Then, the Thunder will hit the road for three of their following four games against the champion Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons, and Milwaukee Bucks before returning home to host the Philadelphia 76ers.</p><h2><b>Mark Daigneault on Thunder’s’ program win’ vs. Trail Blazers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Thunder-head-coach-Mark-Daigneault_a74a5c.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>In a game where <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-how-teammates-pushed-jaylin-williams-toward-first-triple-double">Jaylin Williams recorded his first triple-double</a>, Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault explained why Friday’s win with Alex Caruso and the rest of his bench players against the Trail Blazers was memorable.</p><p>During his media availability, Daigneault <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S0kZTyw6Hs&amp;t=357s" rel="noopener">revealed</a> why it was a unique game for the Thunder organization.</p><p>“That was a great program win for us. That’s one that we can be really proud of as a complete program because that’s a reflection of, first of all, having the right guys and also having a system in place where they can keep themselves confident and sharp when their role increases, like some guys tonight, and when they’re not normally in the rotation,” Daigneault said.</p><p>After watching their 16-point lead dwindle to two, the shorthanded Thunder kept the Trail Blazers at bay in the final minutes of an 18-point win.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Alex Caruso is excited for Thunder’s test against ‘championship-caliber players’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/alex-caruso-gets-100-real-being-thunders-old-guy');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alex Caruso gets 100% real on being Thunder’s ‘old guy’');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Alex-Caruso-gets-100-real-on-being-Oklahoma-Citys-old-guy.jpg"></figure><h1>Alex Caruso gets 100% real on being Thunder’s ‘old guy’</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-06T16:46:35-08:00">March 6th, 4:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-06T16:49:42-08:00">March 6th, 4:49pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder veteran guard Alex Caruso has adjusted to his new environment as the team’s OG this season. After being traded from the Chicago Bulls for Josh Giddey, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-alex-caruso-agree-to-4-year-81-million-contract-extension">Caruso signed a four-year, $81 million extension</a> with the Thunder. Suffice it to say he’s getting used to being the oldest guy on the NBA’s youngest team.</p><p>Caruso <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1897776386611278273" rel="noopener">discussed</a> his newfound role on The Old Man and the Three podcast episode.</p><p>“I’m the oldest guy on the team—me and Kenrich [Williams]. Hart’s [Isaiah Hartenstein] only 26,” Caruso said. “They call me OG and old guy. I’m like a median age, like barely over the median age in the NBA. But they’re also kids, like most of them are actual kids. So, they don’t know any better. Cason [Wallace] makes fun of me because I’m bald all the time.</p><p>“One time, I can’t remember if it was practice or at the arena, and he was looking at me and started laughing, and I’m like, ‘What is it? What is it today? And he’s like, “I just really forget you’re the first bald teammate I’ve ever had.” And I’m like, ‘that’s because you’re 22 years old,’ you’ve only played with high school and college kids,” Caruso concluded.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"I'm the oldest guy on the [Thunder]… They call me OG and old guy… Cason [Wallace] makes fun of me because I'm bald all the time… He's like, 'You're the first bald teammate I've ever had.'"</p><p>— Alex Caruso 😂</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/OldManAndThree?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@OldManAndThree</a>)<a href="https://t.co/F8bjudLskY">pic.twitter.com/F8bjudLskY</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1897776386611278273?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 6, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Caruso, 31, was a member of the 2020 champion Los Angeles Lakers and brings a championship pedigree to the Thunder. He’s adapted well to his new surroundings, emerging as one of the team’s defensive anchors off the bench, averaging 1.7 steals.</p><h2><b>Alex Caruso on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s mindset with Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso-next-to-Thunders-Shai-Gilgeous-Alexander.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder veteran <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/oklahoma-city-thunder/thunder-news-alex-caruso-pulls-back-curtain-on-shai-gilgeous-alexanders-unique-mindset">Alex Caruso revealed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s mindset</a>, which has been an impressive approach. The Thunder veteran revealed how newfound appreciation.</p><p>“So coming into this year, I knew that he was going to kind of be ready to go, but like, getting to know him now and knowing how competitive he is,” Caruso said. “Like, I could see the type of season he’s having is like, he has, you know, he might not ever come out and say it publicly, but like the dude competes and he wants to compete every night, and he, like, thinks it’s a blessing to be able to go out there and play basketball every night.”</p><p>SGA’s approach still astonishes Caruso.</p><p>“Seeing him in person and how effortless he makes it look,” Caruso added. “Like he he’s one of those guys in the league where it’s like, you look up at the end of the third quarter, it’s like, ‘oh s***, he’s got 32, 7, 6, and three steals and a block.”</p><p>The Thunder will look to stretch their five-game winning streak to six against the Trail Blazers on Friday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso gets 100% real on being Thunder’s ‘old guy’

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-super-competitive-defense-allowed-alex-caruso-himself');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Thunder’s ‘super competitive’ defense has allowed Alex Caruso to be himself');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/How-OKCs-super-competitive-defense-has-allowed-Alex-Caruso-to-be-himself.jpg"></figure><h1>How Thunder’s ‘super competitive’ defense has allowed Alex Caruso to be himself</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-12T15:40:57-08:00">February 12th, 3:40pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-12T16:03:32-08:00">February 12th, 4:03pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso’s approach to the game has helped elevate his team to becoming the top-ranked defense in the NBA. The All-Defensive Second Team guard’s addition to a defensive-minded team with the best record in the Western Conference has yielded positive results. Caruso’s presence in the backcourt, coupled with veteran <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-believes-isaiah-hartenstein-start-alongside-him">Isaiah Hartenstein’s ascension to the Thunder’s starting center</a> job, head coach Mark Daigneault has guided his team to a 43-9 record 52 games into the 2024-25 campaign.</p><p>While Daigneault’s player rotation consistently holds themselves accountable on the defensive end of the floor, Caruso <a href="https://okcthunderwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/thunder/2025/02/12/alex-caruso-reflects-on-the-okc-thunders-historic-defense/78471101007/" rel="noopener">believes</a> the additions of him and Hartenstein put the Thunder over the top, per Thunder Wire’s Clemente Almanza.</p><p>“I don’t know if we’ve set it out loud or mentioned it, but we know how special the group we have. Before me and Hart showed up, last year they were already a really good defensive group,” Caruso said. “Adding us helped push them to be better than they were. This group is made up of super-competitive, really hungry guys. When you get 8-10 guys that can all guard and have the same mentality, those are the results you’re going to get.”</p><p>The Thunder leads the NBA in <a href="https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/stat/defensive-efficiency" rel="noopener">fewest points allowed</a> (104.6) and defensive efficiency (1.018), per TeamRankings.com. Caruso’s role off the bench supports a nucleus led by two-way players such as MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, All-Star Jalen Williams, and a towering force between Chet Holmgren and Hartenstein in the starting frontcourt.</p><p>Alex Caruso’s defense and championship pedigree as a member of the 2020 champion Lakers stand out as well, while the Thunder will look to build off their second-round exit in last year’s playoffs to make their first trip in 13 years to the NBA Finals.</p><h2><b>Chet Holmgren on how Isaiah Hartenstein impacts the Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Thunder-center-Isaiah-Hartenstein-next-to-Thunder-forward-Chet-Holmgren.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder forward <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-chet-holmgren-believes-isaiah-hartenstein-start-alongside-him">Chet Holmgren started alongside center Isaiah Hartenstein</a> for the first time in a 121-109 win against the Raptors. After the win, Holmgren <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em99qu-y8GM&amp;t=517s" rel="noopener">discussed</a> how impressed he was with Hartenstein’s overall approach.</p><p>“You can talk about his rebounding on both sides. You can talk about his screening the way he gets guys open. You can talk about his defense; he wasn’t guarding his true position tonight for most of the game,” Holmgren said. “And at the end of the day, he competes. You always want to play with dudes that compete. If somebody’s soft, and it’s showing, you never want to play with guys like that. That’s just not him at all.”</p><p>The Thunder will look to stretch their six-game winning streak to seven against the Heat on Wednesday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Thunder’s ‘super competitive’ defense has allowed Alex Caruso to be himself

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-alex-caruso-gets-menace-label-after-defensive-masterclass-vs-jazz');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder’s Alex Caruso gets ‘menace’ label after defensive masterclass vs. Jazz');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Alex-Caruso-gets-menace-label-after-defensive-masterclass-vs.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder’s Alex Caruso gets ‘menace’ label after defensive masterclass vs. Jazz</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-01-22T22:51:34-08:00">January 22nd, 10:51pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-01-22T22:51:34-08:00">January 22nd, 10:51pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-fans-are-stunned-after-shai-gilgeous-alexanders-54-point-eruption-vs-jazz">Oklahoma City Thunder have been dominant all season long</a> even though they haven’t quite had their full-strength roster for a single game yet. Alex Caruso, one of their big summer acquisitions, has been dealing with some injury problems of his own, but make no mistake about it — Caruso is still a game-changer when he’s healthy. And on Wednesday night, change the game was exactly what Caruso did for the Thunder in their 123-114 win over the openly tanking Utah Jazz.</p><p>Caruso’s impact doesn’t jump off on the box score, but he’s always been one of the most impactful players in the association. He’s always had a penchant for being at the right place at the right time while being one of the best defenders in the league, and on Wednesday, the Thunder needed him to lock down the Jazz at the point of attack amid solid games from Collin Sexton and Keyonte George.</p><p>While Caruso’s reputation as a lockdown defender means that no one is surprised anymore when he clamps up his matchup, all Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault could do is express just how much the 30-year-old guard <a href="https://x.com/CAlmanza1007/status/1882275333107597813" rel="noopener">contributes to winning basketball</a> thanks to his excellent work on the less glamorous end of the court.</p><p>“He’s just a menace… He had one stretch where they didn’t cross halfcourt just because of him… He’s surgical about it and is smart when he takes his risks,” Daigneault said of Caruso, per Clemente Almanza of the OKC Thunder Wire.</p><p>With the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-alex-caruso-reveals-secret-key-success">Thunder setting their sights on competing for a championship</a>, the importance of having a guy like Caruso who embodies winning basketball like few others in the league cannot be overstated. Considering how many elite perimeter players the Thunder will have to slow down en route to winning the Larry O’Brien trophy, Caruso’s “menace” ways will have to hold strong until June.</p><h2><b>Can anyone overcome the Thunder’s elite defense?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso-9-defends.jpg"><figcaption>© Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Thunder have arguably the most complete team in the league; they have the best two-way balance in the association, as not only do they have one of the best number one options in the league in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, they also have many positive defenders across multiple positions.</p><p>Alex Caruso will be a part of the Thunder’s core moving forward, and for good reason. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-alex-caruso-reacts-four-year-81-million-extension">Caruso signed a four-year, $81.1 million extension</a> to stay with OKC beyond this season, and at this point, it will come as a huge shock if they don’t break through with a championship during that span.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder’s Alex Caruso gets ‘menace’ label after defensive masterclass vs. Jazz

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/check-out-alex-carusos-incredible-295k-car-collection-with-photos');   ga('set', 'title', 'Check out Alex Caruso’s incredible $295K car collection, with photos');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Check-out-Alex-Carusos-incredible-295K-car-collection-with-photos.jpg"></figure><h1>Check out Alex Caruso’s incredible $295K car collection, with photos</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-25T09:54:55-08:00">December 25th, 9:54am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-25T09:54:55-08:00">December 25th, 9:54am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/spencersee10" rel="facebook">Spencer See</a>Spencer See is a part-time writer at ClutchPoints focusing on the NBA, evergreen content and celebrity lifestyle. He is also a lifelong fan of LeBron James. In his free time, he either goes fishing or watches basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Alex Caruso has an incredible car collection. Caruso is a fan favorite in the NBA. He currently plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA. Despite going undrafted, Caruso played an instrumental role for the Los Angeles Lakers, helping the Purple and Gold secure the franchise’s 17th NBA title inside the NBA Bubble, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>After that, Caruso became an elite perimeter defender, claiming two-straight NBA All-Defensive Team honors while playing for the Chicago Bulls.</p><p>Given Caruso’s popularity in the NBA, have you ever wondered what kind of cars he drives? Well, wonder no more. Here is Alex Caruso’s incredible $295K car collection, with photos.</p><p>According to online outlets, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/alex-carusos-net-worth">Caruso has a net worth</a> of around $7 million. Back in the 2021 offseason, Caruso left the Lakers to sign with the Chicago Bulls on a four-year deal worth $37 million. During the 2024 offseason, the Bulls traded the coveted two-way player to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a deal that also involved controversial rising star Josh Giddey.</p><p>Caruso then got an early Christmas present when the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-alex-caruso-reacts-four-year-81-million-extension">Thunder signed Caruso to a four-year, $81 million contract extension</a>.</p><p>Aside from lucrative NBA paychecks, Caruso’s popularity has also attracted various brands for endorsement deals. He currently works with brands such as Anta, Manscaped, Hugo BOSS, Instacart, Credit Union, First Entertainment, and Tonal. As a result, Caruso can easily afford to live a luxurious lifestyle.</p><p>But surprisingly, unlike other NBA players, Caruso doesn’t exactly have a stacked garage full of cars. Instead, he has kept his collection to two vehicles. Nonetheless, these are still some of the most coveted cars in the market today.</p><h2><b>2. Land Rover Range Rover</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IMG_8354-3-08183-scaled-2.webp"></figure><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/IMG_8291-2-07375-scaled-2.webp"></figure><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/2013_land-rover_range-rover-sport_img_8301-3-48571-1.webp"></figure><p><a href="https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2013-land-rover-range-rover-sport-11/" rel="noopener">For more photos, click here</a></p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Alex Caruso (<a href="https://twitter.com/ACFresh21?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ACFresh21</a>) returning to LA after winning the 2020 NBA Finals! <a href="https://twitter.com/SLAMonline?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SLAMonline</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Ballislife?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Ballislife</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/overtime?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@overtime</a> <a href="https://t.co/g5ejMkDRXo">pic.twitter.com/g5ejMkDRXo</a></p><p>— tre bravo (@trebrav0) <a href="https://twitter.com/trebrav0/status/1315752705558679552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 12, 2020</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Sold in the market for as much $95,000, the least expensive car in Caruso’s solid collection is the Land Rover Range Rover. Although it’s the cheapest car in the NBA champion’s garage, there’s no doubt that the Range Rover isn’t cheap by any means. In fact, it’s one of the most coveted luxury SUVs in the market today.</p><p>The Range Rover is also a staple among Hollywood A-listers given its sleek exterior finish combined with a spacious and lavish interior that assures comfort, making it a practical vehicle for either city driving or road trips. With a handful of amenities, advanced technology, and a roomy interior, Caruso should have no problems feeling like royalty.</p><p>Aside from being designed with comfort in mind, the Range Rover also has the ability to thrive in some of the most unforgiving terrains, as it also possesses some off-roading capabilities. This makes it the perfect luxury SUV whenever Caruso decides to go on long adventurous trips with his family or friends.</p><p>The Range Rover produces 395 horsepower and 405 lb-ft of torque thanks to a 3.0-liter six-cylinder engine. With an eight-speed automatic transmission, the Range Rover can go as fast as 155 mph. In addition to this, the Range Rover can move from a standstill position to 60 mph in just a little more than six seconds.</p><p>While it’s the cheaper car in Caruso’s garage, undoubtedly, the two-time All-Defensive team selection enjoys taking the Range Rover for a spin whenever he is out with family.</p><h2><b>1. Audi R8</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/USC70AUC171B01350.webp"></figure><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/USC70AUC171B021002-e1734553347354.webp"></figure><p> </p><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/USC70AUC171B021001-e1734553371162.webp"></figure><p><a href="https://www.autoblog.com/buy/2018-Audi-R8-5.2_V10_plus__2dr_All_Wheel_Drive_quattro_Coupe/photos/" rel="noopener">For more photos, click here</a></p><p>Retailing in the market for around $200,000, the most expensive car in Caruso’s collection is an Audi R8, which is an elite super car that’s built to take over the competition in terms of precision, performance, and design. As a result, it’s one of the most coveted cars in the market today, making it irresistible for the Thunder player. It’s also the lone super car in Caruso’s garage.</p><p>In terms of features, the Audi R8 displays a sporty and sleek design built for speed. But not only is it an instant head turner on the streets, but the Audi R8 also offers a handful of luxurious amenities coupled with a lavish interior that should give any driver an experience unlike any other regular car. It’s a modern super car that’s proven to be irresistible.</p><p>The Audi R8 operates on a 5.2-liter naturally aspirated V10 powertrain. This allows it to produce 562 horsepower and 391 lb-ft of torque. In just around 3.5 seconds, the Audi R8 is capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph with ease. Furthermore, the Audi R8 has a seven-speed automatic transmission, and this this elite supercar can go as fast as 204 mph.</p><p>Nevertheless, this is all the information that we have on Caruso’s incredible $295K car collection, with photos.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Check out Alex Caruso’s incredible $295K car collection, with photos

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-alex-caruso-reacts-four-year-81-million-extension');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alex Caruso reacts to four-year, $81 million Thunder extension');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Alex-Caruso-reacts-to-four-year-81-million-OKC-extension.jpg"></figure><h1>Alex Caruso reacts to four-year, $81 million Thunder extension</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-24T14:20:35-08:00">December 24th, 2:20pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-24T14:20:35-08:00">December 24th, 2:20pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Before the Oklahoma City Thunder extended their winning streak in a 123-105 victory against the Washington Wizards, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-alex-caruso-agree-to-4-year-81-million-contract-extension">Alex Caruso addressed his four-year, $81 million extension</a>. The Thunder wasted little time in offering Caruso a long-term deal. Two days removed from his December 21 deadline, stemming from his trade from the Chicago Bulls, the All-Defensive guard is committed to Oklahoma City for the foreseeable future.</p><p>Before facing the Wizards, Caruso <a href="https://x.com/Joe_Sway/status/1871325524502749431" rel="noopener">shared</a> his excitement with Thunder reporters at the team shootaround.</p><p>“I’m excited. The organization, the team, and the city are everything. I’m kind of looking for [in] a long-time partner,” Caruso said. I’ve been excited &amp; ecstatic with the first couple of months I’ve been here. Hopefully, we can find some success to back that up, with the contract. But really just excited to continue the partnership with being in this organization. It’s been great so far, looking forward to the future.”</p><p>Caruso’s championship pedigree bodes well for the young Thunder team with championship aspirations. He’s adapted seamlessly to his new defensive-minded teammates in the backcourt, including Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins, and rookie Ajay Mitchell off the bench.</p><p>With a league-leading 102.9 defensive rating, Caruso’s impact contributed to the Thunder’s emergence as the NBA’s best defensive team in 2024-25. The Thunder also led the Western Conference with a 23-5 record.</p><h2><b>Alex Caruso agrees to four-year, 81 million extension with Thunder</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-guard-Alex-Caruso-with-Thunder-center-Jaylin-Williams.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After Oklahoma City Thunder veteran <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-alex-caruso-honest-admission-how-relates-lu-dort" rel="noopener">Alex Caruso revealed how he relates to Lu Dort</a>, he committed to remaining one of the longest-tenured Thunder players’ teammates through 2029. The Bulls traded Caruso to Oklahoma City in exchange for Josh Giddey when he entered the final year of his current deal. By avoiding his impending free agency, OKC stabilizes one of the most versatile backcourts in the NBA. </p><p>Led by All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who scored 41 points on 14-for-25 shooting and 3-of-6 from deep in Tuesday’s win against the Wizards, the Thunder remain the most dominant team in the Western Conference. Before facing the Magic, Caruso discussed how much he relates to Dort’s journey.</p><p>“Lu kind of had a similar path to me where he kind of had to go two-way and earn it, and now he’s turned himself into one of the most reputable defenders in the league where people know who he is and what he stands for,” Caruso said. “So, just the confidence and the level of swagger, whether offensively or defensively, that he plays with goes a long way with the team.”</p><p>Caruso is averaging 5.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.9 steals in 20 games this season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso reacts to four-year, $81 million Thunder extension

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-alex-caruso-agree-to-4-year-81-million-contract-extension');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder, Alex Caruso agree to 4-year, $81 million contract extension');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_1122.jpeg"></figure><h1>Thunder, Alex Caruso agree to 4-year, $81 million contract extension</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-22T16:33:59-08:00">December 22nd, 4:33pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-22T16:33:19-08:00">December 22nd, 4:33pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oklahoma City <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-why-are-clear-title-favorite-per-analyst">Thunder are looking like legitimate title contenders</a> this season, and a big reason why has been the addition of Alex Caruso. The Thunder acquired Caruso in an offseason trade with the Chicago Bulls, and they’re keeping him around long-term. The Thunder and Alex Caruso <a href="https://x.com/ShamsCharania/status/1870969883045044626" rel="noopener">agreed to a four-year</a> contract extension worth around $81 million, as per Shams Charania of ESPN.</p><p>Alex Caruso’s new contract extension will keep him in a Thunder jersey through the 2028-29 season. More importantly, it ensures that Caruso bypasses free agency this coming offseason when his current deal was set to expire. He undoubtedly would have been a highly-coveted player on the free agent market.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-news-bulls-thunder-alex-caruso-josh-giddey-trade">Caruso arrived in Oklahoma City via an offseason trade</a> with the Bulls that sent former lottery pick Josh Giddey to the Bulls. Caruso has fit in perfectly with the Thunder, especially on the defensive end, and his presence off the bench is a big reason why they are title contenders.</p><p>Caruso has appeared in 19 games for the Thunder this season at a little over 20 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 5.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.9 steals with splits of 38.5 percent shooting from the field, 27 percent shooting from the three-point line and 77.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><p>His steals are a career-high. While his shooting percentages are where you want them to be, it’s been offset by his impact defensively.</p><p>He began his NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-way contract after going undrafted in the 2017 NBA Draft. Caruso spent four seasons with the Lakers, eventually earning a standard contract, and was a key contributor on their 2020 NBA title winning team.</p><p>Caruso spent three seasons with the Bulls and averaged a career-high 10.1 points last year. The Thunder are currently in first place in the Western Conference standings with a record of 22-5.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder, Alex Caruso agree to 4-year, $81 million contract extension

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-alex-caruso-honest-admission-how-relates-lu-dort');   ga('set', 'title', 'Thunder veteran Alex Caruso’s honest admission on how he relates to Lu Dort');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-news-Alex-Carusos-honest-admission-on-how-he-relates-to-Lu-Dort.jpg"></figure><h1>Thunder veteran Alex Caruso’s honest admission on how he relates to Lu Dort</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-20T14:12:37-08:00">December 20th, 2:12pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-20T14:12:37-08:00">December 20th, 2:12pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Before facing the Orlando Magic on Thursday, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso shared his many parallels with fellow veteran Lu Dort. After head coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-honest-take-lu-dort-contagious-approach" rel="noopener">Mark Daigneault gushed over Dort’s longevity with the team</a> and the leadership that comes with it, Caruso talked about how one of the longest-tenured Thunder players’ paths and style of play is reminiscent of his own. </p><p>It’s one of many reasons Caruso <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0ts92sOOH4&amp;t=313s" rel="noopener">admires</a> Dort’s relentless approach. Dort is an undersized guard who went undrafted in 2019.</p><p>“There’s a pride for sure. Lu kind of had a similar path to me where he kind of had to go two-way and earn it, and now he’s turned himself into one of the most reputable defenders in the league where people know who he is and what he stands for,” Caruso said. “So, just the confidence and the level of swagger, whether offensively or defensively, that he plays with goes a long way with the team.”</p><p>Caruso went undrafted in 2016, showcasing himself on the Philadelphia 76ers’ summer league team before signing with the Thunder and joining their G League affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue. He then signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2017 and was a vital part of their championship run in 2020.</p><p>Caruso averaged 6.5 points, 2.8 assists, and 0.7 blocks in 24.3 minutes per game throughout the postseason.</p><h2><b>Alex Caruso reminisces over Lu Dort defending him in games</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-guard-Lu-Dort_e8a899.jpg"><figcaption>Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Amid his first season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-sam-presti-explains-biggest-hold-up-potential-alex-caruso-contract-extension">Alex Caruso could sign an extension soon</a> as he’s in the final year of his three-year, $36.9 million contract. The Chicago Bulls traded him to the Thunder in exchange for Josh Giddey over the summer, which meant he wouldn’t have to face Lu Dort twice a year anymore.</p><p>Caruso revealed Dort often defended him whenever they played against each other, and things rarely went well on nights he faced the Thunder.</p><p>“Not fun. He makes life miserable for people, and that’s what makes him such a good player,” Caruso said. “I think offensively this year, I’ve been able to see him play a little more.”</p><p>When a reporter asked Caruso if Dort dives for loose balls more than any other player on the team, he jumped into the conversation. Then, he explained how refreshing it is to have a teammate who approaches the game similarly.</p><p>“It’s energizing [when] you see somebody giving up their body for the team [in] game 20 of the season,” Caruso said. “That’s the stuff that I’ve done in my career, and I appreciate. It doesn’t go overlooked.”</p><p>Caruso has the utmost respect for Dort’s hustle.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Thunder veteran Alex Caruso’s honest admission on how he relates to Lu Dort

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-alex-caruso-reveals-secret-key-success');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alex Caruso reveals secret key to Thunder’s success');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-news-Alex-Caruso-reveals-secret-key-to-Oklahoma-Citys-success.jpg"></figure><h1>Alex Caruso reveals secret key to Thunder’s success</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-14T09:07:39-08:00">December 14th, 9:07am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-14T09:07:39-08:00">December 14th, 9:07am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>As the Oklahoma City Thunder prepare for their NBA Cup semifinal matchup against the Houston Rockets, veteran guard Alex Caruso shared why 2024-25 has been such a success. With the best record in the Western Conference and a four-game winning streak, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-are-only-nba-team-achieve-this-eye-opening-stat">Thunder’s astonishing steal-to-turnover ratio</a> puts them in a league of their own. However, Caruso says the key to Oklahoma City’s success is the players’ desire to improve while holding one another accountable.</p><p>Caruso also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxoAC4Dc-WM" rel="noopener">credits</a> the front office for meticulously assembling the ideal core of young players who align with the Thunder organization’s standards. </p><p>“They all have the same focus, which is they want to get better. They want to be the best versions of themselves. They want to compete. They want to win basketball games,” Caruso said. “Then, ultimately, the organization has just done a great job bringing guys in that want to represent everything that OKC is about; team first from Shai down to our two-way guys [and] E-10 guys.</p><p>“Everyone is treated the same, and everyone is held to the same standard and accountability. With an atmosphere and culture like that, it makes it really easy for really good basketball players to thrive,” Caruso concluded.</p><p>When the Chicago Bulls traded Caruso to the Thunder for Josh Giddey, the All-Defensive guard quickly adapted to Oklahoma City. He now anchors the second unit’s backcourt and looks forward to competing in the final rounds of the NBA Cup in Las Vegas.</p><p>“The ability to do this during the season is a big responsibility, but it’s a big opportunity for us just to be able to break the norm of the season,” Caruso said. “Kind of that gridlock of 25 games in, you’re like halfway to All-Star break almost. This is kind of more of a mental refresher that I think is going to be really beneficial. But also the ability to showcase the team we have. We got a bunch of guys that are really good basketball players, really competitive, and really close.”</p><h2><b>Thunder are the only NBA team to reach this eye-opening stat</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-head-coach-Mark-Daigneault_085094.jpg"><figcaption>Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Thunder coach <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-mark-daigneault-addresses-previous-shortcomings-rockets" rel="noopener">Mark Daigneault addressed the Thunder’s shortcomings against the Rockets</a> but anticipates an increased effort in the NBA Cup semifinals. Heading into Saturday’s showdown, the Thunder are the only team in the association with more steals (292) than turnovers (265).</p><p>It’s an impressive stat, especially this deep into the regular season. Alex Caruso (30) cracks the top 4 for Thunder players with the most steals. Jalen Williams leads the pack with 49 steals, with Cason Wallace (43) and All-Star guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (42) close behind.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Caruso reveals secret key to Thunder’s success

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/thunder-news-alex-caruso-reveals-business-like-approach-nba-cup-showdown-vs-mavericks');   ga('set', 'title', 'Alex Caruso reveals business-like approach to NBA Cup showdown vs. Mavericks');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-news-Alex-Caruso-reveals-business-like-approach-to-NBA-Cup-showdown-vs.jpg"></figure><h1>Alex Caruso reveals business-like approach to NBA Cup showdown vs. Mavericks</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-12-10T13:00:59-08:00">December 10th, 1:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-12-10T13:00:59-08:00">December 10th, 1:00pm</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Dallas Mavericks</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso reminded reporters of how his team’s playoff run ended against the Dallas Mavericks last season, using the pronoun “we” when he was still a member of the Chicago Bulls in 2023-24. On Tuesday, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-vs-mavericks-nba-cup-results-according-to-nba-2k25">Thunder face the Mavericks in the NBA </a><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-vs-mavericks-nba-cup-results-according-to-nba-2k25" rel="noopener">Cup’</a>s semifinal knockout round with a chance to avenge their Western Conference semifinals loss at the Paycom Center.</p><p>A reporter <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4JoikLYujE&amp;t=221s" rel="noopener">asked</a> Caruso if there’s extra motivation for the Thunder heading into Tuesday’s matchup.</p><p>“Maybe a little bit. But for the most part, this is routine for us,” Caruso said. “We show up, go to work. Prepare the same way. Obviously, we know what’s at stake with the Cup game. Some of the young guys want that extra payday, and that’s some of the motivation, too. There’s some good energy behind that. But for us, it’s pretty standard like show up to work, get your business done. Get ready.”</p><p>After advancing from the group stage of the NBA Cup, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/thunder-news-jalen-williams-reveals-secret-money-inspiration-nba-cup">Jalen Williams revealed Jaylin Williams’ desire to win</a> it all as a motivating factor for his teammates. The Thunder are dedicating their run to their injured center. However, Caruso knows beating the Western Conference champion Mavs won’t be easy.</p><p>“For them, it’s just about picking their momentum from where they were last year, and I think they’re doing that,” Caruso said. “They’re giving good enough efforts defensively to compete, and then offensively, obviously, their talent speaks for themselves. They have great big that complement Luka and Kyrie, and shooting around that. I think if we play the way we’re supposed to play, obviously, we can beat any team in the league. But they’re a really good team, and we have to play well.”</p><p>The Mavericks enters Tuesday’s matchup on a seven-game winning streak and has won eleven of its last twelve games.</p><h2><b>Jalen Williams drops harsh take on Thunder’s second-half struggles</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Thunder-forward-Jalen-Williams-1-1.jpg"><figcaption>Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>For Jalen Williams, Alex Caruso and the Thunder must get off to a strong start and maintain their composure throughout the game’s four quarters. After the Pelicans trimmed a 30-point deficit down to nine in the fourth quarter, it posed the kind of threat that could have cost Oklahoma City the game.</p><p>“We started well, playing hard to start the game. We sucked the rest of the game like the second half was bad,” Williams said. “The way our start was, and how we’ve started like that in the past, we’ve been able to maintain that the whole game.”</p><p>In the end, the Thunder beat the Pelicans 119-109.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
6.2	2.9	2.7	0.5	1.7

2024-25 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
6.2	2.9	2.7	0.5	1.7

Alex Caruso news

Alex
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