Stiles Points: Do Alex Caruso's Offensive Struggles Resemble Gordon Hayward?

The Oklahoma City Thunder have seen Alex Caruso get out to a slow start this season, missing plenty of jumpers and looking suboptimal on the offensive end. Is that due to his NBA upbringing?

Nov 8, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) during the second quarter against the Houston Rockets at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images / Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

People are a creature of habits, and it typically takes 21 days to break a habit. Perhaps, it takes 21 games to break habits as well. Habits built up throughout an entire NBA career and at times basketball life.

Alex Caruso is off to an abysmal start on the offensive end to tip-off his OKC Thunder tenure. The career 37 percent 3-point shooter, who turned in 40 percent a year ago, is stroking the trey ball at just a 22 percent clip in Bricktown.

This is a far cry from the visions that danced in the dreams of Oklahomans when Sam Presti pulled hte trigger on bringing in a 30-year-old veteran to the youngest roster in the NBA.

It looked like a simple one for one swap. Out with the awkward fitting Josh Giddey who was clunky at best on both ends with the constructed Thunder roster and in with a seamless fit for Oklahoma City's play style. A 3-and-D swingman with on-ball juice and ten-fold the shooting the former No. 6 overall pick could provide.

After all, Caruso has already played in Mark Daigneault's system before in the NBA G League in this very city. Everyone charted the course for smooth sailing and all-systems go on a season filled with championship expectations.

However, Caruso has hit rocky waters on the offensive end. His defensive impact is still great enough for the Texas A&M product to be a net positive for the Thunder and put the team in a better overall position than they would've been had they never made that summer time swap. But, what is wrong with his offense?

Enter, the Gordon Hayward theory. No, this is no comparing Caruso to Hayward, whose career was dead on arrival in Bricktown and in the end was more productive in clearing salaries for inking Isaiah Hartenstein than production on the court. But rather the idea of planting a veteran into this system.

So often in the NBA, the role for non-ball dominate players is simple. When the star or lead option you are playing off of passes you the ball, shoot. No matter what spot of the floor you are on if it isn't a re-direct spot to get the dribble back for the star it is a scoring chance for the supporting cast member.

That is what life is like around LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. All score-first in nature players that are marked to carry their respective teams while Caruso was tasked with just playing his role.

The Thunder have one of those star, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and a couple more not far behind in rising stars Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren who at full strength eat up a chunk of possessions. However, they do it in a different way.

With Oklahoma City's system, everyone who touches the ball is live. No matter if that is to keep the ball moving, create for themselves or others, or pull the trigger on a quality look. This is compounded by even the Thunder's leading roles passing up good looks in hopes of generating great ones.

That leaves plenty of time to think, ablib and grey areas. When is the right time to "settle" for a good chance? When is the time to keep the ball moving? When should even the support cast attack? It certainly takes awhile to figure out.

While much younger and inexperience players have caught up to speed in a hurry - most recently, Ajay Mitchell - this is the only style of play they have ever known in their NBA careers. It is rooted in them. This is their NBA reality.

While Caruso is playing hounding defense and taking quality looks on offense culminating in the former Bull still being a net positive for Oklahoma City, it has looked far from crisp. While this question will probably never be answered, is it simply the system?

Caruso is far too talent and has way larger sample sizes of him being a good offensive player than a bad one. The lone variable being the contrasting style the Thunder play comparatively to almost any other NBA team.

Perhaps the uniqueness of the Thunder's style should grant veterans more grace - or at least 21 game - to adjust and find their roles.

Stiles Points:

• Cason Wallace broke out of his offensive cold streak with a 3-for-5 game from beyond the arc, to the tune of 12 points. Wallace also had three rebounds, seven assist and a block.
• Lu Dort had his worst game of the season during in just 2-for-12 from the floor including a rare disastrous game from beyond the arc 2-for-8.
• Oklahoma City won the rebounding and turnover battle but it still was not enough as the Thunder lacked juice for the majority of this contest.
• Adam Flagler attempted to play the Isaiah Joe role with the sharpshooter sidelined. Despite some strong defensive moments, the 1-for-7 shooting night stuck out for the Baylor product.

Song of the Day: Corduroy by Pearl Jam

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