Accepting the illogic that the Lakers couldn’t keep both THT and Caruso, which is what they should have done, it’s becoming very obvious why the Lakers decided not to trade THT for Lowry and to re-sign him rather than Caruso. You could argue that not bringing back Caruso opened up minutes for THT at the two, which is the position he is likely to play once Ariza is healthy.
While it’s only 3 games and one of them was garbage time, Talen looks like he’s made another quantum leap in his development. Playing with confidence, probably still need to get in game shape, No way Lakers are going to pull him out of the starting lineup unless his 3-point shot falters. The difference between having Talen in the starting lineup versus Bradley or Bazemore is a night and day situation, or 20 PPG vs. 3 PPG.
I don’t think this is a do-or-die road trip but I’m optimistic that LeBron’s return along with THT’s return plus the team getting a chance to bond on the road will lead to at least a 4-1 road trip so they could hit the quarter pole with a 12-8 record and 4-game win streak. That may not be possible with LeBron out tonight but it’s what I will be rooting for.