Laker’s THT!!

[Jaxon]

He reminds me of Kawhi lowkey. Like a shorter version. Even has the same long arms and big hands.

[Up-And-Coming]

I was pretty high on Svi Myhkhailiuk , but never understood those hyping Mo Wagner and Thomas Bryant.

THT honestly looks legit as a ball handling point-forward SO FAR though, so I’m cautiously optimistic. Hyping our players is what we do

Point forward?

The guy is 6’3’-6’4”, he is a guard.

He's only 6'4 but has a 7'1 wingspan. He can play some minutes at SF.

Ya, he’s listed at 6’4” with a 7’1” wingspan and 238 pounds (although he’s lost weight). I remember I thought Vogel played him at Forward for the Lakers in spot minutes last season and during the playoffs. Either way he can play some minutes from either position

[Greyhound]

Been burned too many times by players playing preseason like their NBA finals but he does seem like he'll be a solid rotation piece. At the very least it looks like RIP for Kuzma because he's about to slide further down the pecking order. THT much better shot creator

Some of you have a hard on for Kuzma.

If anything Caruso (who happens to be injured at the worst time) will be the one to be pushed out the rotation.

Yeah...no. Not gonna happen.

And if it does?

What say do you have?
Here is what I knew. Caruso is injured right now, so THT will slide into his rotational spot. If he excels in his time there, there could be a tough call to be made.

Caruso’s untimely injury (and THT’s inspired play) could very well find Caruso on a milk box to start the season.

[mademan]

Some of you have a hard on for Kuzma.

If anything Caruso (who happens to be injured at the worst time) will be the one to be pushed out the rotation.

Yeah...no. Not gonna happen.

And if it does?

What say do you have?
Here is what I knew. Caruso is injured right now, so THT will slide into his rotational spot. If he excels in his time there, there could be a tough call to be made.

Crusoe’s untimely injury (and THT’s inspired play) could very well find Caruso on a milk box to start the season.

Caruso is a coach's dream of a player. I dont see him losing his spot. More likely that THT gets hit with the minutes crunch and only gets real minutes when Lebron sits/injury

[trickshot]

Point forward?

The guy is 6’3’-6’4”, he is a guard.

He's only 6'4 but has a 7'1 wingspan. He can play some minutes at SF.

The Lakers will already be playing a 6’7” center on the second unit. I don’t see the point in playing a 6’3”-6’4” guard at SF on top of that. That second unit would be very small.

I'd imagine role, fit and ability would weigh more on Vogel's mind than height

[Barnzy]

Some of you have a hard on for Kuzma.

If anything Caruso (who happens to be injured at the worst time) will be the one to be pushed out the rotation.

Yeah...no. Not gonna happen.

And if it does?

What say do you have?

Here is what I knew. Caruso is injured right now, so THT will slide into his rotational spot. If he excels in his time there, there could be a tough call to be made.

Crusoe’s untimely injury (and THT’s inspired play) could very well find Caruso on a milk box to start the season.

You're making it sound like Caruso is out for weeks or months. It was a slight contusion lol aka a bruise.

From all I've heard he likely plays next preseason game or the one after that.

[heezyo2o]

I think Caruso's minutes would have been more limited as is even without THT. With Schroder, KCP and Matthews...all 3 of those guys are deserving to start and close games. Vogel does like Caruso though.

With all this talk of THT, I think he maybe gets 12mpg on most nights.

[heezyo2o]

With Harrell and Morris, I saw Kuzma's minutes going down already and that has nothing to do with THT. Kuzma needs to be consistent from 3 and be able to consistently defend smaller players if he wants time.

And THT needs to defend well if he's going to get minutes from the other guards. Even if Caruso can't shoot, he likely gets the nod over THT at end of game scenarios

[Barnzy]

And THT needs to defend well if he's going to get minutes from the other guards. Even if Caruso can't shoot, he likely gets the nod over THT at end of game scenarios

There is no doubt. Caruso is the Lakers most proven and reliable defensive guard. Vogel has no problem throwing him on the likes of Lillard or starting him in the finals.

This talk of him being replaced is hilarious. Vogel is a defensive coach.

[nzahir]

Been burned too many times by players playing preseason like their NBA finals but he does seem like he'll be a solid rotation piece. At the very least it looks like RIP for Kuzma because he's about to slide further down the pecking order. THT much better shot creator

Some of you have a hard on for Kuzma.

THT and Kuzma play entirely different roles on the court. They can coexist.
If anything Caruso (who happens to be injured at the worst time) will be the one to be pushed out the rotation.

Mathews shooting will be needed. Kuzma’s size on the wing will be needed. KCP just got paid. The Lakers have been utilizing THT as a primary ball handler.

If Schroder starts, the odd man out will likely be Caruso.

AC is arguably our best defensive guard overall and is so good defensively off ball, we need him out there especially with the losses of Avery and Green.

It will all be matchup related, but Kuzma has to hit open shots if he wants to be out there for a good amount of min when Lebron and AD are playing that game

His defense is avg, he has a lot of up and downs though on both ends

Never consistent, besides maybe missing 3s and taking awful quality shots

Kuzma at worst can be useful for the reg season to eat up minutes when Lebron and AD sit, but he won't ever have a huge role on this team when it matters unless he has dramatically improved his defense and become a good to very good defender or starts to hit 3s at a respectable rate (34% at a minimum, would like to see 36-38% for someone who gets so many open looks and has a good looking shot)

[Greyhound]

Yeah...no. Not gonna happen.

And if it does?

What say do you have?
Here is what I knew. Caruso is injured right now, so THT will slide into his rotational spot. If he excels in his time there, there could be a tough call to be made.

Crusoe’s untimely injury (and THT’s inspired play) could very well find Caruso on a milk box to start the season.

Caruso is a coach's dream of a player. I dont see him losing his spot. More likely that THT gets hit with the minutes crunch and only gets real minutes when Lebron sits/injury

That is my expectation as well. I raise my point only to put this situation into perspective.

THT’s a great young player, but it will be difficult to find minutes for him. The Lakers are a championship team right now (with an aging star), their focus is not going to be finding minutes for developing players.

We will see.

He shows a lot of promise, but who is going to be benched?

[Greyhound]

Been burned too many times by players playing preseason like their NBA finals but he does seem like he'll be a solid rotation piece. At the very least it looks like RIP for Kuzma because he's about to slide further down the pecking order. THT much better shot creator

Some of you have a hard on for Kuzma.

THT and Kuzma play entirely different roles on the court. They can coexist.
If anything Caruso (who happens to be injured at the worst time) will be the one to be pushed out the rotation.

Mathews shooting will be needed. Kuzma’s size on the wing will be needed. KCP just got paid. The Lakers have been utilizing THT as a primary ball handler.

If Schroder starts, the odd man out will likely be Caruso.

AC is arguably our best defensive guard overall and is so good defensively off ball, we need him out there especially with the losses of Avery and Green.

It will all be matchup related, but Kuzma has to hit open shots if he wants to be out there for a good amount of min when Lebron and AD are playing that game

His defense is avg, he has a lot of up and downs though on both ends

Never consistent, besides maybe missing 3s and taking awful quality shots

Kuzma at worst can be useful for the reg season to eat up minutes when Lebron and AD sit, but he won't ever have a huge role on this team when it matters unless he has dramatically improved his defense and become a good to very good defender or starts to hit 3s at a respectable rate (34% at a minimum, would like to see 36-38% for someone who gets so many open looks and has a good looking shot)

That’s all nice. What he brings is most similar to what THT brings. Who is going to sit?

If THT must play. Caruso is the most likely candidate to sit, not Kuzma.

My opinion.

[nzahir]

You guys are crazy to think AC won't be playing much

He just started for us in G6 of the finals and it made a big difference

He was put on guys like Harden, Russ, Dame, CJ, and Murray and held his own.

And his best skill on D is off the ball: Deflections, help D, scrappy hustle plays, and just knowing where to be

We lost a great help defender in DG and an aggressive man defender in Avery. Rondo wasn't a good defender in the reg season or the playoffs even, but he had some really nice off ball moments and was aggressive at creating steals (vs Harden a couple times and vs Denver). We aren't just going to give up on the defensive identity completely

[hoosierdaddy34]

Some of you have a hard on for Kuzma.

THT and Kuzma play entirely different roles on the court. They can coexist.
If anything Caruso (who happens to be injured at the worst time) will be the one to be pushed out the rotation.

Mathews shooting will be needed. Kuzma’s size on the wing will be needed. KCP just got paid. The Lakers have been utilizing THT as a primary ball handler.

If Schroder starts, the odd man out will likely be Caruso.

AC is arguably our best defensive guard overall and is so good defensively off ball, we need him out there especially with the losses of Avery and Green.

It will all be matchup related, but Kuzma has to hit open shots if he wants to be out there for a good amount of min when Lebron and AD are playing that game

His defense is avg, he has a lot of up and downs though on both ends

Never consistent, besides maybe missing 3s and taking awful quality shots

Kuzma at worst can be useful for the reg season to eat up minutes when Lebron and AD sit, but he won't ever have a huge role on this team when it matters unless he has dramatically improved his defense and become a good to very good defender or starts to hit 3s at a respectable rate (34% at a minimum, would like to see 36-38% for someone who gets so many open looks and has a good looking shot)

That’s all nice. What he brings is most similar to what THT brings. Who is going to sit?

If THT must play. Caruso is the most likely candidate to sit, not Kuzma.

My opinion.

Caruso’s defense and IQ on the court will keep him in the rotation. He’s a lock for 20 minutes a night.

I do think THT will play if he’s one of the 10 best guys in the regular season. Wesley Matthews better not miss too many shots, that’s all I’m saying. If he goes through Danny Green type slumps this year he may get removed from the rotation completely.

[LakersSoul]

Pelinka’s gonna be busy with calls about THT.

Pelinka better not trade THT. I think he might have the best upside outside of AD/Bron. I know Lakers fans love Caruso’s jumping ability and hustle on both ends but THT’s ceiling is 1-2 levels higher.

[Greyhound]

The immovable object meets the unstoppable force.

I knew that making this comparison between THT and Caruso would literally create a glitch in the matrix amongst Lakers fans.

I love Caruso as a player, but THT must play a what I am hearing.

[LakersSoul]

AC is arguably our best defensive guard overall and is so good defensively off ball, we need him out there especially with the losses of Avery and Green.

It will all be matchup related, but Kuzma has to hit open shots if he wants to be out there for a good amount of min when Lebron and AD are playing that game

His defense is avg, he has a lot of up and downs though on both ends

Never consistent, besides maybe missing 3s and taking awful quality shots

Kuzma at worst can be useful for the reg season to eat up minutes when Lebron and AD sit, but he won't ever have a huge role on this team when it matters unless he has dramatically improved his defense and become a good to very good defender or starts to hit 3s at a respectable rate (34% at a minimum, would like to see 36-38% for someone who gets so many open looks and has a good looking shot)

That’s all nice. What he brings is most similar to what THT brings. Who is going to sit?

If THT must play. Caruso is the most likely candidate to sit, not Kuzma.

My opinion.

Caruso’s defense and IQ on the court will keep him in the rotation. He’s a lock for 20 minutes a night.

I do think THT will play if he’s one of the 10 best guys in the regular season. Wesley Matthews better not miss too many shots, that’s all I’m saying. If he goes through Danny Green type slumps this year he may get removed from the rotation completely.

Wes is a stop gap guy. He is something like 34. He will get 1-2 years then THT or Caruso will take his job. Wes is solid but he is a vet min 3&D guy who is a bit too small to guard bigger wings like PG or Kawhi.

I know this is baptism by fire but I can honestly see the Lakers using THT against guys like Kawhi by the end of this year or next year.

[Pharmcat]

I don’t understand the minutes arguments here . Lbj and AD need to be load managed, plenty of regular season minutes available to be eaten by kuzma, THT, etc .

[Alonzo_Morning]

This is Linsanity 2.0 isn't it?

[heezyo2o]

THT would be a nice scoring punch off the bench, but if Schroder doesn't start, then he already fills that role nicely