Talen Horton-Tucker has been poor this season – with such a free rein available to him he hasn’t made much use of it.
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When Kyle Kuzma was traded away, it looked like Talen Horton-Tucker was lined up to take over the offense gap Kuzma left. It was a no-brainer since his pre-season exploits and regular season cameos were promising. But when push came to shove, the young man decided to crumble. Expectations are always huge in LA, and a few can take the spotlight.
All the young players who played for the Lakers have now left and are shining elsewhere. The spotlights can be too bright in LA, and it seems like Horton-Tucker is the latest casualty.
Or it could be that he just isn’t good enough and fooled everyone with that freak summer outing. Either way, Rob Pelinka made a mistake keeping him, and now he’s stuck on the roster with absolutely no trade value.
Why would he have one too, with garbage performances night in and night out? Even Kuzma blew hot and cold – but never like this. People likened Tucker to the next Jayson Tatum – they may have been talking about JT Jr. because THT has been stealing a living in LA.
Talen Horton-Tucker may have most of the word Talent in his name – doesn’t mean he has it to be a Laker
In his last three games, THT has scored a combined 4 points. That’s four more than Trevor Ariza and Kendrick Nunn, who seem to have come to the sunny side of California for a vacation and a couple of million dollars. Fans, sportscasters, and the general public alike are tired of watching a once-great organization employ bums.
In the recent surprise win against the Golden State Warriors, Horton-Tucker and LeBron James combined for a massive 58 points. Guess who scored 56 of them? Not the one who shares the same name with comedian Chris Tucker that is for sure.
Some fans think that just improving one facet of his game would make him a better player – if that is everything, then they would be right. Tucker air balls almost every other game – what is the hurry? He’s decent driving to the rim, but that is about it. He’s just a b.tec Ben Simmons, who shoots poorly and can’t defend.
Even when he scores 20 a game, the impact he has on the game is so little. His +- is atrocious (Everybody on the Lakers has shocking stats) and never leading the team by example. He’s one of the few young people in the team capable of running hard, but all the onus still falls on LeBron James.
