With Rajon Rondo‘s injury and Avery Bradley deciding to opt-out of the season due to personal reasons, it’s expected that Alex Caruso will see increased minutes.
The fan-favorite Caruso had been making the most of limited playing time until the abrupt suspension of the season in March. The back-up point guard was averaging 5.4 points and 1.8 assists in just under 18 minutes per game.
In a call Spectrum SportsNet’s Mike Trudell on Wednesday, Caruso detailed his expected increase in playing time and secondary ballhandling duties, in a situation where he may be the first off the bench backing up Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Recognizing that this may be his time to shine, Caruso also explained that he decided to skip the wedding of his sister, Megan, last week to focus on the return to basketball. Had he decided to attend the Austin, Texas wedding, the league-mandated quarantine would have been between 10-14 days upon his return.
Speaking with ESPN about missing the wedding, Caruso said,
“They [the Lakers] supported my decision either way. They also helped me realize how important I am to what we are trying to do here, now that Avery [Bradley] didn’t make it and Rajon [Rondo] hurt his hand. There is some added responsibility.”
The Lakers will open the restart of their season on July 30 against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Lakers Notes
- Rajon Rondo had successful surgery on his fractured right thumb. His rehabilitation will take place outside the NBA bubble, meaning that he will have to quarantine prior to any return.
- The Lakers remain the odds on favorite to win the championship according to NBA betting guides and Las Vegas bookmakers.
- J.R. Smith believes that his past experience playing with LeBron James will help him to make a successful transition to the Lakers. Smith feels that he’ll be able to make an immediate and positive impact.
- An initial COVID-19 testing error prevented Danny Green from attending practice, but that has been resolved and he’s reportedly now participating in full practices with the team.
- Markieff Morris‘ absence from the team is excused. He’s expected to join the team in Orlando next Thursday or Friday.
- After expressing some doubts, Dwight Howard has decided to play out the rest of the season with the Lakers. Howard missed the Laker’s first official practice due to quarantine issues.
- Bill Plaschke weighed in on LeBron James’ goals for the NBA’s restart and playoffs, and the decision not to use one of the NBA-approved social messages and stick with his own name on the back of his jersey.