OKC Thunder Defense Ace Has Rebounded From Christmas Day Dud

There is no if ands or buts about it, Alex Caruso had a dud performance a week ago on Christmas Day. He turned in12 points, a rebound and a block while shooting just 3-for-13 from the floor which included a shutter inducing 2-for-12 from beyond the arc.

Caruso knows that outing wasn't good enough and didn't meet his standards. There really was no reason for concern, either. It was simple: Chalk it up to this being a make or miss league. The Texas A&M product had great shot selection on Thursday against the Spurs and the career 37% 3-point shooter just happened to run into a string of misses.

The body of work speaks for itself with the two-time champion, including for this Thunder team. Last postseason, he was one of the best 3 point shooters on the roster turning in 41% from beyond the arc in the team's 23 game playoff run.

Daigneault sounded off on Caruso's Christmas outing and how it is easy to keep believing in a player like this.

"The thing about that one is he started 0-for-8 and he shot 12 of them. There's not a lot of competitors out there that would shoot the seventh, the eighth, the ninth, the 10th, the 11th and the 12th. You have to be pretty mentally tough and lost in the competition," Head Coach Mark Daigneault said. "He knows those are the right shots for the team. He doesn't care about the fact that the last one didn't go in. He keeps shooting them. That's why he's a great competitor."

While last Thursday against San Antonio was frustrating for Caruso, he has proven that he will continue to trust the work he puts in.

"I think the Christmas game was frustrating for me because I live for one or two games a year where I get 10 attempts and I'd like to be prepared to make them. I feel like I put the work in to be shooting well or at least better than I did in that game," Caruso said. "Just trying to be consistent with the work I put in... I didn't go home and had a miserable Christmas, other than we lost and I was a little upset with that. Next day, got my treatment and got to work."

After that game, the Thunder defensive ace is averaging 8.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 1.3 stocks per game while shooting 73% from the floor, 57% from the 3 point line and has provided the usual jolt for this OKC club.

While no one is blowing Thursday's game out of portion, it is important to highlight the maturity he handles a loud dud with to rub off on this still young Thunder team still learning about the ups and downs in this league. His confidence rightfully never wavered and he was rewarded for it.