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5 Reasons Why Talen Horton-Tucker Is the Future at Point Guard for Lakers

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It’s definitely premature and disrespectful of proven veteran teammates but I’m going to say it anyway: 20-year old Talen Horton-Tucker is the future at point guard for the Lakers and could be the starter sometime this season.

In four preseason games, Talen averaged 20.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.3 steals in 31.6 minutes per game, ranking 2nd in points, 2nd in rebounds, 4th in assists, 1st in steals, and 1st in plus/minus for the team. And these were not hollow stats posted in garbage time minutes as Talen was a major force in the Lakers’ undefeated preseason, highlighted by a 33 point, 10 rebound, 4 assist, and 4 steal performance against the Clippers.

Yes, it’s only been four preseason games but the improvement in Talen’s game at both ends of the court has been unprecedented for a second round draft pick. His newfound confidence and skill level are off the charts. The Lakers’ coaching staff and players say what everyone’s seen Horton-Tucker do in his brief debut in the playoffs and this preseason, he has been doing everyday in practice and scrimmages since last season in the bubble.

There are five reasons why Talen is the future starter at point guard for the Lakers: his elite ability to get to the rim and finish, run the pick-and-roll, make plays for others, create steals and turnovers, and shoot the three ball.

1. Ability to Get to the Rim and Finish

The first thing that jumps out at you about Talen Horton-Tucker is the ability of his powerful 234 pound body to absorb contact at the rim and use his freakish length and acrobatic athleticism to finish highlight reel layups. Blessed with a 7′ 1″ wingspan, hands almost as big as Kawhi Leonard, and the biggest body of any NBA player his height, the 6′ 4″ Horton-Taylor is a tireless juggernaut that relentlessly and fearlessly attacks the basket.

With elite physical skills and shifty moves, Talen has the potential to be one of the hardest players in the league to stop from getting to the basket. He’s an unstoppable attack dog with unique ability to get to the rim at will.

2. Ability to Run the Pick-and-Roll

One of the key skills that make Talen incredibly difficult to defend is his savvy ability on pick-and-rolls to use his handle, strength, and change of pace to put and keep his defender in jail as he navigates through the paint. While he’s not fast or quick, Horton-Tucker’s strong body, long arms, and big hands make him a nightmare matchup for most point guards and impossible to control in the lane where he’s a lethal threat to score or pass.

Talen’s gravity as a finisher and uncanny court vision let him to use pick-and-rolls to create opportunities for others in the paint or on the perimeter and his huge hands and long arms enable him to find them in traffic.

3. Ability to Make Plays for Others

Make no mistake, Talen Horton-Tucker is not going to be a pass-first point guard. His future is clearly as a shoot-first point guard whose threat as a big time scorer is going to demand other teams’ attention and best defenders. Unlike most young high powered scorers, Talen has great court vision and willingness to make the right play when a teammate is open, whether the result of him being in attack mode or a simple hockey pass to the corner.

Talen’s elite passing repertoire includes all the weapons a great playmaker needs, including pinpoint pocket passes in the pick-and-roll, drive-and-kick passes to wide open 3-point shooters, or lobs to bigs for dunks at the rim.

4. Ability to Create Steals and Turnovers

Defense has been how 20-year old Talen Horton-Tucker has earned minutes on the Lakers’ 10-deep championship roster. His weapons are a 6′ 4″ 234 lb body, 7′ 1″ wingspan, and ‘Klaw’ sized hands to create steals and turnovers. His elite arm length and hand size enable him to hound ball handlers and deflect passes, tip balls from dribblers, and rip the ball out of players’ hands like he did while defending Kawhi in preseason game against the Clippers.

Talen’s outlier physical metrics and defensive potential were what first brought him to the attention of NBA scouts. His team best 2.3 steals per game in preseason show how far he’s grown under the Lakers’ tutelage.

5. Ability to Shoot the Three Ball

The biggest surprise since his rookie year is Horton-Tucker’s improvement as 3-point shooter, hitting 2 of 5 (40%) in his 17 minutes in two playoff games and 7 of 13 in his 127 (53.8%) minutes in four preseason games. Talen’s improved 3-point shooting showed how hard he worked on his shot as he only made 49 out of 159 threes (30.8%) in his one year at Iowa State and 72 of 233 threes (30.9%) in his 38 game stint in the G-League last year.

If he can shoot the three well, there’s no limit to how far Talen can go. That he shot 90% from the line in preseason compared to 74% in the G-League and 62% at Iowa State gives hope his improved shooting may be legitimate.

Going from preseason sensation to regular season rotation player to starting point guard is a daunting challenge on any team much less on a deep and talented championship team but Talen has a chance to do it. The next step is taking over as the Lakers’ backup point guard and proving his preseason performance was not a fluke and the team can count on him to run the offense efficiently, rack up points, and defend at a high level

That Talen’s already knocking on the door is a luxury and miracle for a Lakers team already favored to repeat as champions. There are encouraging signs they may have already found their point guard of the future in THT.

Why Talen Horton-Tucker Should Be Backup Point Guard for the Lakers

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Lost in the discussions of how to find minutes on a championship Lakers team ten deep with proven talented players has been the more important question of what is the position Talen Horton-Tucker is best suited to play?

I think we saw the answer to that question the last three preseason games where Horton-Tucker averaged 23.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.7 steals in 34.4 minutes at point guard while shooting 53.3/45.5/89.5%. While it’s foolish to overreact to a few preseason games, what we saw in those games was exactly what the Lakers coaches and players have seen from this kid in the bubble, during the playoffs, and in practice every day.

The first time I heard the Lakers were considering Talen Horton-Tucker as the backup point guard was back in November 2019 in a YouTube stream by Eric Pincus Making Sense of the Los Angeles Lakers’ Hard Cap Moves. While discussing the Lakers depth chart for the season, Pincus said the coaches were high on THT, believed he would become part of the rotation, and could even challenge Alex Caruso for the backup point guard role

The reason Talen is even on the Lakers roster is LeBron James. “I saw him about three and half, four years ago,” James said of Horton-Tucker. “I was watching a high school basketball game and I happened to catch Simeon playing. And I told our agent at the time — it’s now Talen’s agent, Rich Paul — that he needs to take a look at this kid Talen Horton-Tucker that’s at Simeon. I think the kid is super talented. This was like four years ago.

What transpired after that may be a key moment in Lakers history as on June 20, 2019, the Lakers traded their 2020 second round pick and $2.2 million to the Orlando Magic to take Talen with the 46th pick in the draft. After spending most of his rookie year in the G-League and only playing in 2 regular season games with the Lakers, Talen got a chance to play in two second round playoff games in the bubble against the Rockets and excelled.

Thrown into the pressure cooker of the bubble playoffs, Horton-Tucker averaged 7.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in 8.5 minutes per game, giving the Lakers a glimpse of what he was capable of doing at 19-years old. The most telling comment about what the Lakers think about Talen Horton-Tucker’s potential was what one of their coaches said to LA Times writer Dan Woike while watching him practice during the playoffs in the bubble.

Here’s the quote from Woike: Inside a convention center ballroom during the playoffs, a Lakers coach milled around the edge of a makeshift practice court. Nineteen-year-old Talen Horton-Tucker made a play, another flash of the potential that had been popping in limited minutes earlier in the bubble. And a smile crept across the staffer’s face. “That [dude] might start for us next year,” that coach, who happened to be Frank Vogel, said.

I was even more impressed watching Talen dominate the second half and lead the Lakers to a 3rd straight preseason win last night rebounding from a shaky first half off the bench instead of starting like in the first two games. After missing his only two 3-point attempts in the first half, Talen did what great players do. He put his head down and used his size and length to attack the paint, making several highlight reel layups and dishes in traffic.

While it may be awhile before he forces himself into the starting lineup, there’s no question Talen Horton-Tucker has earned a role in the Lakers’ rotation as the team’s backup point guard when LeBron’s not on the floor. While he’s capable of contributing off the ball, Talen’s handle and ability to get into the paint and make plays for himself and teammates and his upside as an elite wing defender are exactly what the Lakers need to repeat.

It almost unfair that a championship team as deep and talented as the Lakers should find a transcendent young star like Talen Horton-Tucker but like LeBron James said, “This kid is flat out SPECIAL! Mark my words.”

5 Things: 3rd Preseason Game, Same Result

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With one odd starting line up and an empty arena the Lakers started off sluggish against the new-look Phoenix Suns. LeBron looked a little rusty, Booker looked like the spectacular scorer he his and in the end…it didn’t matter. We won our 3rd preseason affair 112-107. Phoenix looks like a team ready to move up in the NBA hierarchy and one of the big non-Laker questions if the season is will they bump Portland (and stiff arm Golden State) and ascend into the playoffs?

  1. THT making it happen. Professional sport has plot lines and one of those that always has a place in every season in every type of team sport is ‘will the kid stick?’ Well…this kid is gonna stick. THT has done about as much as possible with his opportunity to shine in the NBA preseason. On a team like the Lakers, burdened with expectation and with eyes on another banner, that’s no small thing. We don’t need to get into the stats, they’re solid across the board, but what I like best about his success is he isn’t forcing the action to get his buckets or make an impact. It’s all within the organic flow of our team which is not easy to do. He won’t be getting the minutes he gets now, that is one certainty, but if he can impact the game at a similar level he will be another 2nd round gem unearthed by the Laker scouting dept.
  2. Kyle Kuzma’s improved game. Kyle looks smooth. It’s a known fact that he generally plays better as a starter but that there is no clear path to a starter role on this team. He showed us that game again last night. Started in place of KCP and responded with one of his better games of the preseason. It’s a flummoxing situation for all involved because you want to see Kyle do well but he does struggle more when he comes off the bench. Maybe, and we say this every year since his rookie campaign, but maybe this will be the season where he really puts it together on both ends and can be another consistent scorer off the bench. His shot looks improved so maybe the short layoff will be better for him in general.
  3. Trezz’s energy. Gotta love it. I also love his midrange game, he’s got a nice 10-15 foot jumper he can splash. But his calling card is his energy which is infectious and helps give the bench an early identity to build around. Between Harrell, Kuzma and THT the Lakers have three really solid bench contributors to go along with Caruso and…maybe Quinn Cook right now as the lead players off the bench. The bench will be called upon, often, in the early part of the season as I expect Vogel to impose an unstated, non-rigorous minutes limit on AD and LBJ. There will be stretches where they both sit and it’ll be guys like Trezz and and Co. that need to come in and make instant impacts. He may be new, may not have won a ring but you can see how Montrezl is already making his presence felt on our bench squad.
  4. Only Laker we haven’t seen is Alfonzo McKinnie at this point. Every one else that was a camp invite has been cut, the 2 Way dudes have all gotten some burn…not Alfonzo. Can’t see anything on any injury reports or any news about him going through COVID protocols so not sure what the situation is there but I had hoped to see him get some run in. One more preseason game left so we shall see.
  5. Oh yeah, AD and LBJ had their preseason debuts. They looked great! neither played in the second half. While we still haven’t seen the entire team play in a preseason (KCP and Caruso out with hip issues, not major) the things that were hallmarks of the championship team remain early on in preseason: team play, solid defense and we have 2 of the best players on Earth at positions that really compliment one another well. So as we make our way to the final preseason affair on Friday the same things that were true and defined the team last season remain true today: we’re going as far as Davis and James take us.

One more of these to go, then the W’s and L’s start to matter. I expect we’ll see as close to the full roster play something akin to regular season rotations on Friday if everyone is healthy enough to go. Next Tuesday we kick it off snd get this party started, Can’t wait. Go Lakers.

Did Lakers Just Unveil Plan for Deep Rotation, Load Mgmt, and Covid-19?

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Maybe it’s just coincidence but could Frank Vogel’s decision to play only 9 players Friday night and 8 players Sunday night be a preview of a brilliant Lakers’ plan to manage a deep roster, load management, and Covid-19?

Friday night, Vogel played a 9-man rotation of Schroder, Matthews, Caruso, Kuzma, Harrell, THT, Cook, Cacok, and Antetokounmpo while holding out James, Davis, KCP, Morris, Gasol, Dudley, and McKinnie due to Covid-19. Sunday night, he played an 8-man rotation of Gasol, Morris, Kuzma, KCP, THT, Harrell, Cook, and Dudley while holding out James, Davis, Schroder, Matthews, Cacok, Antetokounmpo, McKinnie, and Caruso due to injury.

By limiting his rotations to just 8 or 9 players, Vogel was able to give every player an opportunity to get in rhythm and play well with the result that the Lakers won both games without playing LeBron James or Anthony Davis. With two preseason games to go, the Lakers looked like a team ready to start the season while the Clippers looked like a team going nowhere as Ty Lue played 18 players in Friday night’s loss and 17 in Sunday night’s loss.

With Talen Horton-Tucker looking like a potential star, Frank Vogel needs to find a way keep a deep and talented 11-man rotation happy and productive and give each player enough minutes and opportunities to be successful. Keeping rotations to 8 or 9 players ensures everybody gets to play at least 20 to 30 minutes per game so they can develop rhythm and rapport with their teammates. Teams usually play better with 8 or 9-man rotations.

With the early start and compressed season, the Lakers need to give LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and others who played deep into the playoffs days off and be ready to respond to players missing games due to Covid or injury. Deploying a shifting 8 or 9-man matchup rotation based on opponent could be an ingenious way for the Lakers to manage the playing time demands of a deep roster, the need to rest LeBron and AD, and the impact of Covid-19.

The way this would work is relatively simple. Assuming the Lakers decide they have 11 players to whom they want to regularly give 20 to 30 minutes of playing time, they would then rest 2 or 3 of those 11 players every game. Positional matchups and players out due to injury or Covid would obviously be factors on who would sit out. LeBron and AD would likely play against major competitors while one of them might rest against lottery teams.

So how would an 8 to 9-man shifting matchup rotation of 11 players work over the 72-game NBA regular season? How many of the 72 games would various players end up playing versus sitting out during the regular season? The math is simple. For 11 players to share an 8 or 9-man rotation, each player would have to sit out every 5th game, meaning they would play in 80% or 58 and miss 20% or 14 of the 72 regular season games scheduled.

But every 5th game is just an average. Depending on the player, their age, health, level of play, opponent, matchups, and schedule, Vogel may want specific players to sit out only every 6th game and others every 4th game. The beauty of the template is it allows the coach to fine tune the rotation to each opponent, gives every player regular chances to rest and recuperate, and ensures the players who play have enough minutes to get into rhythm.

The shifting matchup rotations give more than five players the opportunity to start and close games, allow the coach to see which player combinations work best, and help to develop teamwide chemistry, synergy, and culture. They also afford more players chances to play meaningful minutes, keep the team fresh, healthy, and engaged over the long season, and make it easier to adjust should players get injured or end up testing positive for Covid.

5 Things: Lakers Easily Handle Clippers

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That was a fun game to watch. When you’re on fire from distance like we were, playing the kind of defense that leads to a bunch of easy baskets and making plays for the team the game is fun to play and watch. That was indeed the case last night.

  1. Rinse, wash, repeat. Beating the Clippers back to back, even in preseason, is always a treat. Y’know…I used to feel bad for the Clipps. Not so much these days what with all the hype they keep pumping up about this and that. In all honesty the only good things that’ve come out of Clipper Land these days is us snagging Trezz and the news that Steve Ballmer won’t be knocking down the Fabulous Forum in order to build his mega sports complex in Inglewood. Nowadays I take a slightly sadistic, special pleasure when we hand that squad an L. Even in preseason.
  2. Winning with defense. The best part, in my opinion, about the preseason thus far has been how locked in our defense is. Sure there have been some miscommunications between the new guys (expected) and some break downs here and there (always will be, except of course the Game 6 defensive masterpiece) but for preseason the Lakers already look pretty solid on defense. Whether it’s crashing the glass or ducking into passing lanes for steals or THT mugging Kawhi Leonard the Laker D is on point.
  3. Three point barrage. It won’t happen every night but man were the Lakers on fire from three last night! The team shot a whopping 72% and everyone who took one made one (except Marc Gasol). Fun stuff!
  4. Speaking of the debut of Marc Gasol… Man is it going to be fun watching Marc with the ball in the high post. Sharing the floor with LeBron and Anthony Davis is going to make his passing so incredibly deadly. His ability to drop surgical strike passes from the top of the arc is a lethal weapon that should be classified as such. The only blemish was he missed his sole three point shot. Other than that he looked like a perfect addition to a Laker team that prides itself on defense and a team-first mentality. Welcome (back) to the Lakers Marc Gasol!
  5. The best for last. You knew this one was going to be about Mr. Horton-Tucker. Talen was superb last night and if he keeps this up he’s going to make somebody sit. Who that will be is a tough question for coach Vogel to answer (and he said as much in his own post-game session) but it’s an awesome problem to have. Talen hit step backs from the mid-post out to the three point line while shooting 11-17 (4-5 from three, 7-9 from the stripe) bullied Clipper defenders on his way to the rim, grabbed 10 boards to go along with 4 assists and 4 steals. For as much as he had the ball in his hands he only had 2 turnovers which indicates to me he’s playing under control and not just barreling his way all over the court. He picked his spots perfectly last night and the Clippers, who boast some decent wing defenders named Paul George and Kawhi Leonard, had zero answer for him. While this may not happen every night and he certainly won’t play that type of role on this team on a nightly basis…yet…it was a blast to watch Talen deliver his best performance to date in an NBA uniform. Keep up the good work.

We got two more preseason games left against Phoenix and then this thing kicks off next week. So i expect we’ll see the true starting 5 to a limited degree on Tuesday and something approaching a normal rotation in the second game before the games matter. The emergence of THT as a ball distributor who can obviously get his own shot makes the lack of a true back up PG less of an issue. Between Talen, Gasol and Caruso we have the talent on the roster to create offense in the half-court when Schroder or James sits. That was one of my concerns for this team coming in and seeing how well THT has passed and created has been awesome. Kid needs a role. Back up point forward sounds about right to me.

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