Alex Caruso (ankle) ruled out Wednesday vs. Dallas

Caruso will miss a second consecutive game with a sprained right ankle. The Thunder signed Ochai Agbaji on Friday to add wing depth, and he may play rotation minutes immediately.

Agbaji will fill out Oklahoma City’s depth, and with Jalen Williams (leg), Alex Caruso (ankle) and Cason Wallace (shoulder) all out, Agbaji could see some rotation minutes immediately. He’s only worth an add in deep leagues.

Caruso went to the locker room with an apparent ankle injury after Dillon Brooks accidentally fell on him. The Thunder are already dealing with injuries in the guard position, so it’s worth monitoring over the next few days.

With Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein sitting, Caruso made his first appearance of the preseason as a starter. The veteran wing shot well, hitting four of his six three-point attempts in 17 minutes. While Caruso has been a solid member of the Thunder rotation the last two seasons, injuries limited his fantasy impact. With the team trading Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins during the offseason, Caruso’s role takes on added importance, potentially pushing him back into fantasy relevance.

After three seasons at Iowa, Dix transferred to Creighton for his final college season. Making 34 starts, the 6-foot-6 wing averaged 13.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 2.0 three-pointers, shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 86.7 percent from the foul line. After shooting nearly 42 percent from three at Iowa, Dix made just 33.8 percent of his attempts at Creighton. He’ll likely spend most of his time in the G League due to OKC’s depth, especially after they added two more guards during the draft.

Saturday’s series finale will be the fourth consecutive game that Mitchell has missed since straining his right calf during Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals. Jalen Williams (hamstring) is also out for Game 7, which means the Thunder will once again lean heavily on Jared McCain. Alex Caruso and Isaiah Joe also have added importance due to the absences.

Caruso was one of several OKC players to bounce back from a rough Game 4. He displayed his usual defensive strength by leading the Thunder in steals, but his contributions on the offensive end as both a scorer and a facilitator were also critical, as has been the case for much of the series. The veteran two-time champion has scored at least 15 points and made three triples in all but one game during the Western Conference Finals matchup. He’s rising to the occasion on both ends of the floor and has helped position his team for a closeout game on Thursday.

With Jalen Williams (hamstring) and Ajay Mitchell (calf) unavailable, the Thunder turned to Wallace to fill the resulting void in the starting lineup. He struggled with his shot in Game 4, but the third-year guard wasn’t the only one who failed to show up. Jared McCain (four points, two rebounds) shot 1-of-10 from the field and Alex Caruso (two rebounds, one assist and two blocks) missed his lone shot attempt. Regardless of what happens with J-Dub and Mitchell for Tuesday’s Game 5, the Thunder need more from Wallace, McCain and Caruso if they’re to defend home court.

Caruso followed a hot three-point shooting Game 1 with another on Wednesday, as he connected on 75 percent of looks from beyond the arc. The veteran guard also hurt San Antonio’s defense as a playmaker, doing so without committing a turnover. The sharp shooting and savvy playmaking were complemented by sound defense on the other end. As a result, he led the Thunder in plus-minus (+18) and had a massive part in evening up the series at one game apiece.

Over the last few years, Caruso has been at his best when the stakes are the highest. That held true in the first game of the Western Conference Finals, as he had the best offensive performance of his playoff career. He set new playoff career highs for both points and three-pointers while making Victor Wembanyama’s life difficult on the other end of the floor. Even if it doesn’t show up in the box score during the regular season, Caruso is one of the most impactful players in this series, and they’ll need him to continue to play at a high level to get back to the NBA Finals. However, there likely won’t be more 30-point games in his future.