Caruso s G2 game shines, Lakers fans and Lakers media both begin to miss the park s championship

In the finals G2 game, the Thunder continued to play against the Pacers at home. Finally, after four quarters of strong defense and sharp attack, the Thunder defeated the Pacers with a big score of 123-107 and rewrite the total score to 1-1 tie.

In this game, Caruso of the Thunder took 11 shots in 27 minutes, including 4 of 8 three-pointers and 4 of 4 free throws, scoring 20 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist, plus or negative value +6.

Previously, James praised Caruso when he was connecting with Nash. James said that Caruso was one of his favorite teammates in his career.

And Caruso's performance tonight once again aroused dissatisfaction among Lakers fans. They don't understand that Caruso, who can change the direction of the game, was actually traded by the management?

A Lakers fan said bluntly: Pelinka asked Horton Tucker, but she was unwilling to give Caruso a reasonable salary? I will never forgive him!

Lake media also posted a poster of the 20-year Lakers winning the championship in the park after the game and wrote: We could have become a dynasty team! After winning the championship in 2020, the Lakers' best record in the next five years was to enter the Western Conference Finals, but was eliminated 0-4 when facing the Nuggets.

In fact, trading Caruso may not be what Pelinka wants. After winning the championship in 2020, the management immediately began to dismantle the team. At that time, many players in the Lakers lineup (such as Danny Green, Pope, Rondo, etc.) had expired or faced the demand for salary increases. James and Davis had occupied a large amount of salary space. In this case, the management needed to balance the burden of luxury tax and avoid falling into the "super luxury tax" trap for a long time.

In addition, James was 35 years old at that time and had a history of injury. The Lakers believed that they must seize the remaining championship window, so they took risks and make radical adjustments, such as trading Westbrook in 2021, but this action overdraws the team's future draft pick and lineup depth.

Most importantly, there was a difference between the management and the coaching staff, especially when Lakers head coach Vogel changed his conceptual defensive strategy after the team won the championship, resulting in chaos in the subsequent team's tactical system, which also led to Vogel's dismissal.

No matter what, salary pressure, short-term championship pressure and lineup trials were all the dilemmas faced by the Lakers at that time. The wheel of history rolled forward, and since you had crossed the mountains and rivers, there was no need to regret it.