Laker’s THT!!

[NPZ]

im a laker fan but come on its pre season n he also shot poorly too n wasnt good defensively

Well, one thing I will say in THT's favor is compare what he did in those 2 gms to Lonzo's 1st preseason as the 2nd overall pick. And Zo has a good vert. Zo looked like DOOOG sht for most of his preseason and early RS. In his 2nd RS game at PHX, Zo shot 27 times and kept coming down and bricking and bricking w/ that horrifying shooting form. I don't know how you can poo poo Talen's work so far to that from a supposed blue chipper. Magic to Lonzo: "Please leave some of my assist records up there." Zo: "No problem, Mag."

THT was an unheralded 46th pick, but he managed to build a normal shooting stroke. The 2nd overall pick couldn't.

[NPZ]

Apparently even Kawaii asked about how old THT was saying how poised he was out there. He’s very shifty, has a good handle, great length, create space with his handle and his book, high basketball IQ, good instincts, great competitor has he seems fearless out there.

Not explosive though so ceiling is limited.

I mean as a second-round pick, as long as THT develops into a guy who can play 15-ish minutes during a playoff game and not cost the team the game, then he's a success in my book. I don't think anyone should expect anything more than that from a player who was picked later in the draft.

YES!!1

[lonzo_pelota]

Unlocked. Carry on.

-KD

Lakers fans are super excited about THT, more than Caruso. THT was a late 2nd round pick last year and he was fantastic last season in South Bay.

That's your own opinion. I dunno about it, but everyone is entitled to one. No matter what, Caruso and MAYBE THT will be two rarities for LA as guys they drafted or picked up and then worked with them til they became viable rotation players (maybe for THT). THT is only 20, so just because he had a good preseason performance doesn't mean he's instantly a 2nd unit guy who gets regular minutes. I wish he could usurp some of Kuzma's minutes, but I doubt he will this year. People are getting ahead of themselves as they usually do. Vogel is the guy who determines THT's role and mpg. That's what people are forgetting as they wow! at Talen. He's got some moves and a great wingspan and big hands and he's even-keeled and doesn't make a lot of mistakes, which is good for a 20 yr old who was the 46th pick. He's got potential, but it'll probably take awhile for him to work his way into the regular rotation like Caruso did. Caruso took time, too. This is a championship team, too. If it were a lotto team, he would get way more minutes, but it is what it is.

He's not greatly explosive athletically. Might be why he didn't wow enough teams to vote for him. Garish jumping ability is overrated by itself. Talen kinda has an Andre Miller like savvy scoring style. Changes speeds from quick to stop to slow depending on what's there. He IS very good at letting the game come to him considering he's 20. Dre Miller was still an effective player as a corpse, btw, so so much for athleticism.

andre miller is a excellent comparison in that he had great handles, could always get to a spot in the halfcourt, or master at getting a decent layup attempt or the drive and dish, real solid player , long career, was about 6'3 and always played below the rim

[J-Wolves]

Lakers fans are super excited about THT, more than Caruso.

Nope. Speak for yourself.

Caruso started a game in the finals and locked down premier guards throughout the playoffs.

THT has a long way to go. He looks promising and was getting to his spots in the preseason game but couldn't finish.

He's not taking rotation mins off Caruso, KCP, Schroder, Matthews etc. He's only likely to play very marginal minutes unless there's injuries.

Let me make myself clearer, THT has a much higher ceiling than Caruso and there in lies the super excited-ness. I am not saying THT will play more minutes but the ceiling is different. Caruso is a stud but a fringe starter/key backup. THT has star potential.

THC has a much higher ceiling than THT and the Lakers are alot more excited by the NBA not testing for marijuana for the next 12 months

[NPZ]

Everybody assuming that everybody knows what is THT
Sounds like a growth hormone?
Pesticide?

Yes, it's a pesticide! It kills all of the logical braincells in fans for a period of the pre-season while vets coast and the 15th guy on the bench is trying to ball his heart out to keep his roster spot.

edit: Thankfully its not very effective and disappears after about 6 games.

Salt.

[NPZ]

He's not greatly explosive athletically. Might be why he didn't wow enough teams to vote for him. Garish jumping ability is overrated by itself. Talen kinda has an Andre Miller like savvy scoring style. Changes speeds from quick to stop to slow depending on what's there. He IS very good at letting the game come to him considering he's 20. Dre Miller was still an effective player as a corpse, btw, so so much for athleticism.

andre miller is a excellent comparison in that he had great handles, could always get to a spot in the halfcourt, or master at getting a decent layup attempt or the drive and dish, real solid player , long career, was about 6'3 and always played below the rim

This isn't really a direct comparison to Talen physique wise, but I'll posit this name as another guy like Dre Miller who proved that a 1, 2, or smallish 3 doesn't need to be uber athletic in order to carve out a long career or to be a factor on a winning team who gets regular minutes. Sam Cassell did that as well as Dre. Now, I'm not at all sayin that Tucker and Cassell were anything like each other, but I'm not even sure if Sam could dunk. However, he was in the NBA for years just poppin midrangers and treys. He had Kenny Smith as his opposite guard who could tear up the court like Usain Bolt, yet Cassell was just as successful w/ those Rockets as The Jet was.

It is a good thing for teams to have various looks. Tucker could feasibly be a guy of that type. I'm most impressed thus far with his demeanor and his calmness and passing eye in halfcourt sets and within jumbles of players. For 20, he doesn't look nervy or frightened at all and he doesn't force his game. Course he will do it from time to time, but not generally. I'd like to see him get more minutes. Twenty is young, true, but it ain't unheard of for a 20 yr old to have impact. See Magic and Kobe. Hopefully Vogz has a fondness for the lad. He might not be as popular as Caruso yet, but he's creepin on a come up. Watch out, Alex!!

PS: Check Ricky Fox as a 3. Dude was molasses slow. However, he had nifty post up spins and was a generalist. Good man on man defender, shut Peja completely down in a couple of playoff gms during the 3Peat. Had full career as an Everyman athlete.

[NPZ]

Saying it's RIP is clear hyperbole, what is fact is his usage and touches are going to drop with schroder, Montrez and possibly THT. It's a combination of 2 new players. Lebron won't sit out enough games to impact his overall usage. He isn't getting more shots or usage than the first two. That we can have a friendly wager on

kuz will get all the opportunities he'll need for mgmt to determine if hes worth extending....n i don't need to bet some random on the internet, im not 12

Maybe stop taking every figure of speech literally. No one is asking for an actual bet, "we can bet on it" it's an expression of certainty not some bad dude trying to hustle you

Haha. Cackling at you guys goin at it. I knew that bet comment would annoy you. I would've been annoyed too.

[NPZ]

Just in case you thought he had no outside shot....

Read on Twitter

?s=21

Guy w/ the pink shoes and lightened hair in braids done by some gurl should've fallen backwards to draw that charge. Flailing like that won't do it. You gotta let the ref see the soles of your purrty pink shoes, cuh.

Pink in today's game, man... I'll give another point to THT for looking like a normal kid of his age unlike that flamboyant lad defending him. Wonder what Jordan would've said if Nike came up w/ a pink variant of his shoes.

[BillessuR6]

A few sites had THT as a sleeper pick end of first/beginning of second round...

Knock on him was he was a terrible shooter, looks like he developed nicely...

But he is expiring, right? Surprised LA did not sign him to a 4 year deal as a lot of 2nd rounders get 4 year deals now...

[LakersSoul]

A few sites had THT as a sleeper pick end of first/beginning of second round...

Knock on him was he was a terrible shooter, looks like he developed nicely...

But he is expiring, right? Surprised LA did not sign him to a 4 year deal as a lot of 2nd rounders get 4 year deals now...

THT is a restricted FA this summer and is under Gilbert Arenas Provision.

[LakersSoul]

He's not greatly explosive athletically. Might be why he didn't wow enough teams to vote for him. Garish jumping ability is overrated by itself. Talen kinda has an Andre Miller like savvy scoring style. Changes speeds from quick to stop to slow depending on what's there. He IS very good at letting the game come to him considering he's 20. Dre Miller was still an effective player as a corpse, btw, so so much for athleticism.

andre miller is a excellent comparison in that he had great handles, could always get to a spot in the halfcourt, or master at getting a decent layup attempt or the drive and dish, real solid player , long career, was about 6'3 and always played below the rim

This isn't really a direct comparison to Talen physique wise, but I'll posit this name as another guy like Dre Miller who proved that a 1, 2, or smallish 3 doesn't need to be uber athletic in order to carve out a long career or to be a factor on a winning team who gets regular minutes. Sam Cassell did that as well as Dre. Now, I'm not at all sayin that Tucker and Cassell were anything like each other, but I'm not even sure if Sam could dunk. However, he was in the NBA for years just poppin midrangers and treys. He had Kenny Smith as his opposite guard who could tear up the court like Usain Bolt, yet Cassell was just as successful w/ those Rockets as The Jet was.

It is a good thing for teams to have various looks. Tucker could feasibly be a guy of that type. I'm most impressed thus far with his demeanor and his calmness and passing eye in halfcourt sets and within jumbles of players. For 20, he doesn't look nervy or frightened at all and he doesn't force his game. Course he will do it from time to time, but not generally. I'd like to see him get more minutes. Twenty is young, true, but it ain't unheard of for a 20 yr old to have impact. See Magic and Kobe. Hopefully Vogz has a fondness for the lad. He might not be as popular as Caruso yet, but he's creepin on a come up. Watch out, Alex!!

PS: Check Ricky Fox as a 3. Dude was molasses slow. However, he had nifty post up spins and was a generalist. Good man on man defender, shut Peja completely down in a couple of playoff gms during the 3Peat. Had full career as an Everyman athlete.

I like the Lowry comparison since they are both deceivingly quick and similar body types.

THT has those Frankenstein arms that could make him a great attacker to the rim and defender.

[Doug_12]

We will see if he is going to be part of our rotation, but it's pretty intriguing that both Vogel and his teammates are speaking highly of him.

Not sure how we are going to use him, but his physical tools are very exciting. I mean even though he is just 6'4 his standing reach is greater or equal to a lot of players who can play the forward spot with confidence. Like: Jaylen Brown, KCP, Reggie Bullock, Hayward or Danny Green. With his "tank-like" body I think he could guard the majority of the smaller wings effectively.

[Michael Lucky]

He really look good. Great find...
But he's 20yo? Wtf

He looks like a 30yo dude.

He’s the second youngest player of All Time win a NBA Championship.

Who is the youngest?

Darko Milicic ironically.

[MartinJake]

....

[trickshot]

kuz will get all the opportunities he'll need for mgmt to determine if hes worth extending....n i don't need to bet some random on the internet, im not 12

Maybe stop taking every figure of speech literally. No one is asking for an actual bet, "we can bet on it" it's an expression of certainty not some bad dude trying to hustle you

Haha. Cackling at you guys goin at it. I knew that bet comment would annoy you. I would've been annoyed too.

I know right!!

[Dajadeed]

And Lonzo and Kuzma won pre season MVPs

Let's take it down a notch real quick

Lonzo and Kuz contribute as rookies in a title run?

That was summer league against other kids. This was a kid going up against the supposed best perimeter defense in the league and having a good game, getting everyone’s attention... and then torching them in game 2. Without bron or AD.

He was getting to his spots AT WILL.

[Liam_Gallagher]

Talen Horton-Tucker is going to be really good. Dude dropped 33 on Kawhi and Beverly, scrubs don't do that even in preseason.

Their roster is just stupid, their 8-11th men are Kuzma, Morris, Caruso and THT. Unfair.

[oldshoolballer]

THT was a steal in the second round.I liked him last year but I honestly didn't expect anything like this. He looks like a superstar.

[Pointgod]

We can trade Lebron for Harden. THT is the captain now

[R-DAWG]

THT should be entering his jr year and college, and likely should have stayed in school an extra year. Last year in the G-League he put up 18-6-4 on 42/31 splits. He can handle the ball, not enough to be a primary ball handler, but could be a secondary ball-handler in a Lebron James centric offense. Physically, at 6-4, 235, he's built like a linebacker and has long arms which offset his 6-4 frame and give him the defensive versatility to guard 1-3. Based on the described profile, and the production in the G-league level, he would have likely been in the conversation for high teens/early 20's first round pick in the 2020 draft.

Whether he has the upside of an average to above average starter, on an 8th man in a rotation depends on improving his 3 point shot, and IQ/focus. He clearly has the physical tools to be a starter in the NBA. The question is does he become a smart team defender who can hit 3's at an average to slightly above average clip.