The Thunder's Veteran Guard Will Be A Stable Shoulder To Lean On During Away Games

Oklahoma City is heading to Phoenix for the next two playoff games and will need some experience to get them through.

Feb 7, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) gestures after scoring against the Houston Rockets during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Thunder will look to their veteran leader if things start to get shaky on the road. 

Oklahoma City is gearing up to play in Game 3 of its opening playoff series against the Phoenix Suns. OKC currently leads the series 2-0 and is now heading to Phoenix, where the next two games of the series will take place. 

Playing on the road is never easy, especially in the playoffs. Oklahoma City might come across situations where they get knocked down, and in those moments, they’ll rely on a veteran to get them through. 

Alex Caruso has come to play whenever the Thunder have called upon him. With OKC getting out to an early lead in Game 1, Caruso only played 13 minutes for the Thunder. However, in the tighter Game 2, Oklahoma City relied on the veteran heavily as he played 23 minutes. 

In this time, he scored a solid seven points and was a monster on the defensive side of the ball. He swiped three steals for Oklahoma City and was a ball handler's worst nightmare anytime he was on the court. 

These advanced minutes aren’t anything new for Caruso during the playoffs, as he averaged over 24 minutes per game last year for OKC. Caruso also has more playoff experience than most on the Thunder, with this being the fifth postseason of his career. With this advanced playoff experience, Caruso knows what it's like to play against a hostile crowd while on the road, and he also knows how to get past it. 

Last year, in the Thunder’s first road game of the postseason, Caruso did it all. The veteran guard played 23 minutes and had 10 points on a solid 57.1% shooting night. He also grabbed six rebounds and three assists, and made his statement on the defensive side of the ball with four steals and a block. 

Another instance of Caruso showing his experience on the road was Game 5 of the NBA Finals. Caruso had a postseason high of 20 points, and still managed to do his job disrupting, grabbing five steals. OKC is hoping Caruso can do the same starting Saturday afternoon to make the back end of the series against the Suns easier. 

As Oklahoma City prepares to enter Phoenix, they must make sure that a different environment doesn’t derail all the positive play they have had up to this point. To do this, they will need to lean on Caruso in some instances where they need experience to get them through.