How Alex Caruso helped unlock Cason Wallace’s pickpocket potential

There was a moment during an episode of The Young Man and The Three podcast Oklahoma City Thunder guards Alec Caruso and Cason Wallace they were asked how much film study goes into their preparation. Wallace’s response left Alex speechless as the third-year guard revealed that he often relies on his own instincts instead of studying the opposing player’s film. Caruso took Wallace under the wing of his defender this season.

Wallace is off to a strong start this season, averaging 9.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and a league-best 2.5 steals per game. Caruso, talk about Wallace the habit of watching moviesbelieves his teammate is reaping the benefits while still growing in his third season with the Thunder.

“When you go through the league, you start to see different tendencies. You start seeing things the second, third, fifth time, in person, on film — it just helps you get comfortable,” Caruso said. “You don’t think about the field as much. You kind of anticipate and know what to expect — offensively/defensively, actions and sets that you’re going to get. What things are you going to have to guard?”

“For him, I think people forget because he’s played so many minutes from such a young age; this is his third year. And he can still get a lot better – which is encouraging, and that’s one of the ways you can steal the increase in ability you get when you’re not on the court, when you’re not playing games.”

Caruso believes this season should accelerate Wallace’s growth as he continues to learn the opponents’ frequent tendencies.

“I hope he continues that. That’s something I’ve talked about and talked to him about. Once you pick up guys’ tendencies, you can really start to manipulate the game with your mind. Then, from there, your physicality comes into play, where he’s so physically gifted that he’s been able to just come in and protect people from thinking better when he’s at a high level. in that aspect.”

How Alex Caruso turned Cason Wallace into a defensive monster

While the Thunder All-Star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander starts as MVPthe defending champions have an NBA-best 10-1 record. The Thunder also leads the league defensive efficiencywhich points to guys like Cason Wallace, Alex Caruso and Lou Dort as key parts of the Thunder’s defensive identity.

Thunder head coach Marc Daigneault discussed how Caruso’s impact from last year carried over to this season and how Wallace sharpened his sword in the early weeks of the regular season.

“As time goes on, these guys get more experience playing against guys like Jordan Poole — they learn the league, they learn the snaps, their instincts start to grow over time, which I think comes from experience,” Daigneault said. “He obviously has a gift on top of that. You’d have to ask him what he’s doing on purpose.”

“But I think he’s become a little more intentional in his study and learning the nuances of the game. I think Dort and Caruso probably helped him a little bit with that. Those guys are pretty tight,” Daigneault concluded.

The Thunder will host back-to-back games, starting Tuesday against the Warriors and ending Wednesday against the Lakers.