Alex

Caruso

Caruso injured his hip during Monday’s win over Washington, but his absence won’t significantly impact fantasy basketball. Oklahoma City has multiple players, including Cason Wallace and Ajay Mitchell, who can absorb the minutes that would usually go to Caruso.

While injuries have limited Caruso’s impact on the Thunder since returning to the franchise via trade this offseason, there’s no doubting the value placed on the reserve guard. The extension ensures Caruso will be part of the franchise’s plans for the foreseeable future, but it does not impact his fantasy value. Caruso remains a deep-league option due to concerns about availability.

As a team, the Thunder shot 33.7% from the floor and 15.6% from beyond the arc. While Wallace didn’t help much with that, he was still able to play solid defense off the bench and contribute some stocks. Alex Caruso (3 steals) was able to do the same in 24 minutes. Isaiah Joe got the start, but his shot wasn’t falling like they needed it to, which resulted in Mark Daigneault turning to Caruso and Wallace more. Wallace came off the bench in this game despite starting their last three games and six of their last seven. We’ll see if he returns to the starting unit on Thursday in Orlando.

Caruso will be available after missing five games with a strained hip. While he hasn’t been an impactful fantasy option when healthy, his presence in the rotation means fewer minutes for Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins. All three are deep-league options at best, which won’t change with Caruso available.

Tuesday’s game will be the fifth Caruso has missed with this hip injury, and staying healthy has been a struggle for him this season. His absence has freed up more minutes for Isaiah Joe, Cason Wallace, and Aaron Wiggins. However, while all three have been worthwhile contributors, none is a lock to provide reliable fantasy value.

Caruso will miss a fourth straight game with a hip injury, but this won’t have a dramatic impact on fantasy basketball. He hasn’t played a significant role, and his only real contributions have been in the steals category. Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace will each see a few extra minutes.

Caruso’s continued absence does not significantly impact fantasy basketball, as he has not been productive enough to merit being rostered in most leagues. His Yahoo rostered percentage (55%) is too high for a non-starter ranked just inside the top 150.

This will be a second straight absence for Caruso, and his minutes will once again be divided up between Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins and Cason Wallace. However, Caruso hasn’t seen enough minutes this season to make much of a fantasy impact, outside of providing steals.

Caruso aggravated a prior hip injury during Wednesday’s win over Portland. Oklahoma City hasn’t played since, but the time off hasn’t been enough to get Caruso back to full strength (or close enough to play). Isaiah Joe (calf) is questionable for Monday’s game and can absorb some of the minutes if made available.

Caruso fell hard on his hip during the second quarter of Wednesday’s game. While he got to his feet and set a bone-crushing screen seconds later, that may have been the play when Caruso aggravated the hip injury. He missed three games last week due to a sore right hip, but the schedule may work in his favor. Oklahoma City doesn’t play again until Monday in Sacramento, so Caruso will have time to recover.