Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso did not search for excuses after the team’s Western Conference Finals exit. One day after Oklahoma City fell 111-103 to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7, Caruso described the series as one decided by small margins and missed opportunities.
“We just kind of ran out of time,” Caruso said during his end-of-season media availability on Sunday, May 31. “We weren’t good enough in stretches where we didn’t course correct fast enough. There were games that were close that we ended up losing, one and seven in particular, that we had chances to win both games.”
The Thunder entered the postseason as the West’s top seed after a 64-18 season and reached Game 7 of the conference finals despite injuries limiting key contributors. Oklahoma City had swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round before losing a seven-game series to a Spurs team that finished 62-20 and advanced to the NBA Finals.
Caruso said Oklahoma City’s disappointment stems from believing the roster had championship-level ability.
“The disappointment of understanding your team is good enough to win a championship and you don’t is probably the biggest thing that weighs on me,” Caruso said. “Even with Ajay and Dub being out, going to seven games with the other 64-win team in the league and feeling confident and thinking we should win and go to the finals and win still, that’s just the confidence we kind of carry ourselves with.”
The veteran guard pointed to execution rather than roster limitations when discussing the loss.
“Having Dub and Ajay would have helped obviously, but we had enough to get the job done,” Caruso said. “We lost by eight points and were down 10 to start the first quarter. So there was room from there. We pretty much played even since then in the game. There’s plenty of chances for us to win that game and series.”
Caruso also emphasized Oklahoma City’s internal expectations after a season in which players stepped into larger roles because of injuries and rotation changes.
“Everybody being ready at any given time and kind of creating your own rhythm,” Caruso said, was part of “the standard that we hold through the building of being a pro and being ready to play when your number’s called.”
That mentality became especially important for second-year guard Ajay Mitchell, whom Caruso praised for adapting to increased responsibility in the playoffs. Mitchell averaged 15.1 points, 4.3 assists and 3.7 rebounds across 11 postseason games while stepping into a larger role.
“He just continues to get better,” Caruso said. “This year he took a big jump as far as his confidence and his ability to understand how good he can be and get to spots and be effective.”
Caruso also expressed confidence that the Thunder’s title pursuit remains intact despite the setback.
“You either win the last game, one team does and the other 29 teams are pissed and want to come back the next season and try to chase that trophy again,” Caruso said. “No doubt in my mind we’ll regroup. We’ll get back to where we need to be and be ready to go game one next year.”
The 31-year-old, who averaged 11.0 points while shooting 44.6% from three across 15 playoff games, said the focus now shifts toward improvement.
“The sun came up today,” Caruso said. “I got to start planning out what my summer’s going to look like, how I’m going to get better, how I’m going to come back and make my teammates better. And then from there you get ready game one and go chase it again.”
