When LeBron James went down with a “high ankle sprain” vs. the Atlanta Hawks and was ruled out indefinitely, the Lakers became seriously devoid of on ball playmakers, with only Dennis Schröder fitting the bill and Marc Gasol missing time due to COVID19 protocols, building fitness, and then making way for Andre Drummond to get some much needed time to adjust to his new teammates.
But with all that going on, the Lakers needed someone else to step into those creator shoes, or as Chad Kroeger of Nickelback put it on the song “Hero”:
“They said a hero will save us”
And Alex Caruso has been that hero, specifically as an on-the-ball playmaker in the pick and roll, and Lakers head coach Frank Vogel has noticed.