Alex Caruso took on an impossible challenge for the Thunder. I almost succeeded

The Athletic has stay protection of Spurs vs. Thunder in Game 2 of the 2026 NBA playoffs Western Conference finals.

OKLAHOMA CITY — Hours after Victor Wembanyama surprised the constructing, the sounds of the once-deafening Paycom Center have been lastly understandable. Janitors murmured throughout the decrease bowl as they rigorously swept the crumbs left from the pandemonium. The streaks of the sneakers that performed an iconic Western Conference finals Game 1 have been outstanding on the hardwood. So, too, was the spot: Where Wembanyama unabashedly launched from to earn the San Antonio Spurs a second additional time and at 122-115 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Five paces from the scorer’s desk, 28 toes from the rim. It feels impossibly distant.

If it wasn’t obvious every time Wembanyama steers All-NBA ballhandlers from making routine choices, it clicks once you stand there on the courtroom: There isn’t any technique to put together for such an enigmatic, unpredictable pressure on both finish of the ground, no correct simulation for a star nonetheless creating. There is barely reacting in actual time. Doing.

Alex Caruso understood that. For a lot of Monday evening, OKC’s hopes hinged on him figuring out the wrinkles a protection should be keen to concede, the benefits an offense should steal and the correct decision-making essential to freeze a 7-foot-4 catch.

The 6-foot-5 Caruso, in one among the most empathetic function participant performances in latest reminiscence, was every part the Thunder wanted. He was David to Wembanyama’s Goliath till his work was undone.

“Sad it went to waste,” Shai Gilgeous-Alexander mentioned of Caruso’s 31-point recreation. “He played his butt off tonight.”

Nine seasons in, stretches of the 32-year-old’s common season are spent in bubble wrap. Every spasm or tweak is met with warning. Abysmal taking pictures slumps, even in a yr through which Caruso shot 29.3 p.c from 3, are written off. Because Caruso is merely incubating. He’s a cog in a machine constructed with many components, an irreplaceable veteran and a gentle disruptor till the playoffs roll round. That’s when his true kind is summoned. The postseason beckons a distinct agent of chaos. Springtime, and its stakes, improve its worth.

“I think that’s probably why I play better this time of year, because winning is of the utmost importance and it carries a lot more weight in the playoffs than it does during the season,” Caruso mentioned. “It’s one of those things where you’re just trying to make whatever the play is and trying to win the game.”

This is why coach Mark Daigneault can flip to Caruso two minutes into a matchup that screamed for his presence. It’s why Caruso performed a season-high 32 minutes when 20 minutes was as soon as a spry evening, and why he performed the bulk of two overtimes with the ground tilted to show him as he was trusted guarding Wembanyama. If such a factor exists, Caruso is a huge slayer.

Two minutes after he entered the recreation, nicely earlier than he drilled eight of his 14 3-point makes an attempt, Caruso swindled Wembanyama with a ball pretend, beating a whirling closeout and ending over his skyscraping attain. He’d penetrated the forcefield.

Caruso obliged San Antonio relating to his recreation plan. Amid all the 3-pointers the Spurs conceded whereas being stingy with the Thunder and MVP Gilgeous-Alexander’s paint touches and driving angles, Caruso gladly chucked shot after shot. Wembanyama, tasked with roaming away from the least threatening shooter, closed out late as Caruso drilled his fifth 3-point try, clapping and smirking on the journey again down the ground.

But that amusement evaporated. Caruso stored taking pictures and hitting, typically sufficient that it warranted Wembanyama regularly inching nearer to him on the perimeter. He tried to weaponize the 22-year-old’s personal overzealous tendencies.

“He’s a good player defensively, so he’s trying to make all the plays, and rightfully so. He can make them,” Caruso mentioned of Wembanyama. “So part of that is just being smart about how you attack him. You watch the first couple series that they played, and there’s times where they’re just trying to shoot layups over him, and that’s not how you should play against him, right?”

“I’m not going to give you our game plan, but there’s times to be aggressive, and there’s times to manipulate the defense and get better shots.”

It took this degree of element to outlive. Caruso has performed with shot blockers of various sizes and stardom. Wembanyama, although, offers the Spurs with a extra highly effective degree. Spurs guard Stephon Castle is a hound, however there’s further security in the 7-foot-4 shadow that follows SGA. Wembanyama mirrors opponents’ actions and is lanky sufficient to thoughts the again facet or the pick-and-roll in a single stride. He offers a cushion for late rotations and reduction for blunts.

Wembanyama entered the fourth quarter with out a foul. Gilgeous-Alexander tried 10 pictures earlier than the fourth, none of them close to the rim. Most of his makes an attempt didn’t come till late, when actions have been drawn as much as free him. Ajay Mitchell, who averaged 16 field-goal makes an attempt throughout his promising exhibiting in the Thunder’s West semifinal collection sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers, completed with 5 pictures and 4 factors. The Thunder scored 38 paint factors on 43.2 p.c taking pictures.

All-Star Chet Holmgren missed all three of his paint makes an attempt and went simply 2 of seven from the ground in 41 minutes.

The shot that preceded Wembanyama’s lengthy, game-tying 3 in additional time was an off-balance, midrange leaner from Jalen Williams as the huge man lurked on the left block and the assist was tightening.

“I think you get caught worrying about it too much and you lose aggression,” mentioned Gilgeous-Alexander, who tallied 24 factors and 12 assists on 7-of-23 taking pictures. “That’s when they really get a stranglehold on a game.”

Using knowledge to measure Wembanyama’s impression doesn’t fully account for its evolution. He is formidable to ballhandlers, forcing second guesses that draw out possessions late into the clock. Wembanyama, on movie, is an simpler foe than the one towering above the cylinder.

“When you play against those players, it’s kind of an acquired thing. You learn it as you go,” Daigneault mentioned. “We’ve gone through that with other great players where you develop a feel. You can talk about it as much as you want, but you gotta develop a feel for it.”

Daigneault felt the season collection granted some familiarity, however these groups hadn’t met in practically 4 months, an eternity in Wembanyama’s timeline. He is hoarding experiences. Animosity — the pressure with which he dunks, the feelings he wears in opposition to this explicit opponent — is his anchor.

Anything that made Wembanyama look lethal was introduced forth by Caruso. When he swiped up and dug, defending Wembanyama’s decrease physique, the latter might look a bit clumsy. But he mitigated Wembanyama’s mighty attain, forcing him away from snug catches and permitting different defenders to get entangled with entry passes.

The Thunder, branded by physicality, met their match in a Spurs crew that dishes it out equally. San Antonio’s ballhandlers are sturdy. Wembanyama is undeterred inside 10 toes. Yet the form of cracks Caruso was capable of open can determine video games like this one.

The huge man loomed bigger. Impact overruled expertise, with Wembanyama throwing a 41-point, 24-rebound blanket over Caruso’s profession recreation. Still, I have bolstered his legacy.

The Thunder’s historic protection and their offensive juggernaut of an MVP went from undefeated and unscathed in these playoffs to pricked and ruffled. The Spurs have an antidote patrolling the ground and deterring what the Thunder do. It’s a critical sufficient menace that dropping the caliber of efficiency that Caruso provided appears like a colossal mistake.