Caruso is playing +10 more minutes a night for OKC
With a teammate sidelined, Alex Caruso's role in the last three games points to a bigger job than his season line shows.
Alex Caruso is averaging 10 more minutes a night over his last three games than his season number, with a Thunder teammate out. He is up to 29.3 minutes a game over that stretch, against a season average of 19.3 through 71 games in 2025-26.
The scoring moved with the minutes. Caruso is putting up 13.7 points a game over his last three outings, compared to 7.2 for the season. That is nearly double his usual production, in the same window as the extra playing time.
This is last season's data, as of May 30, 2026, the date of his most recent game. Three games is a short sample, and it lines up exactly with one teammate being out. Whether it holds depends on whether that absence continues. If the teammate returns, Caruso's minutes and scoring have a clear path back down to his season numbers. If the absence stretches on, a heavier role becomes the expectation rather than the exception.
For now, treat the jump as tied to circumstance, not a permanent change in how OKC uses him. The next few games, played with the teammate back in the lineup, will show which version of Caruso is the real one.