“Alex Caruso carried us in the first half”: LeBron James credits the Lakers combo guard after his tremendous performance against the Warriors in the play-in tournament

LeBron James lauds Alex Caruso after his outstanding performance in the play-in tournament win against Stephen Curry and his Warriors.

The newly-introduced play-in tournament received a lot of mixed reactions. A few stars like Julius Randle liked the idea of such a tournament. There were a majority of coaches, players and executives like Luka Doncic and Michael Malone who were against the concept. LeBron James went a step ahead and suggested that the person who came up with the “sh*t” idea of a play-in tournament, needed to be fired.

Have whatever opinions you want to about this controversial idea, there is no doubt that so far it has been super-entertaining for the fans as well as the players to see. In one of the most talked-about matchups, Steph Curry and the 8th seed Golden State played the 7th seed Lakers.

Calling the match fun would be an understatement. It was an action-packed thriller with the defending champions grabbing a narrow 103-100 win.

King James’ long-distance clutch game-winning three-pointer spoilt Chef Curry’s brave 37-point outing. While LBJ and Anthony Davis were the stars for the Lakers, no one can deny the energy Alex Caruso brought to their squad off the bench. LeBron, for one, made sure to laud the 27-year-old.

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“Alex Caruso is a smart player who knows what he wants to do”: LeBron James

Entering halftime, GSW did hold a 55-42 lead. While Bron, AD and Dennis Schroder struggled to knock down shots, it was Alex Caruso who, according to James, “carried” the defending champs. Scoring 12 crucial points on 100% shooting, Caruso’s performance did keep LAL in the game.

In one of their most important matches of the season, the Carushow had a big performance. LeBron didn’t fail to recognise Alex’s production and gave him some high praises. In a videoconference after the game, the 17-time All-Star said:

“His attention to detail, just smart, very smart, knows what he wants to do. Always in the right place at the right time. He just makes plays, just makes plays. Some of them show up in the box score, some of them don’t.”

“But tonight, they definitely showed up in the box score. I mean, he pretty much carried us in the first half offensively and we just had to match him in the second half.”

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Winning this critical game, Frank Vogel’s Los Angeles team have successfully managed to clinch the 7th seed in the Western Conference. Flying to Phoenix, the Lakers will face the outstanding Chris Paul-led Suns team in the first round of the playoffs.