Thunder's Alex Caruso: Makes defensive impact in return

Caruso (hip) tallied three points (1-4 FG, 1-3 3Pt), two steals, one rebound, one assist and one block across 18 minutes Tuesday in the Thunder's 118-102 win over the 76ers.

Defense is Caruso's calling card, and the 30-year-old turned in an active effort on that end of the court in his return from a 10-game absence due to a left hip strain. In 21 appearances this season, Caruso has recorded a steal in all but two of those contests and remains an elite streaming option for that category, even though his playing time will often hover between 15 and 25 minutes. While he's never been a high-usage player, Caruso has at least been a capable three-point shooter in the past with a 37.3 percent conversion rate for his career, but he's struggled to find his touch in his first season in Oklahoma City. He's thus far knocked down just 26.5 percent of his 3.2 attempts per contest from downtown.