Talen Horton-Tucker Discussion: Growing Pains

Monks so athletic and a serviceable passer when he gets a head of steam going to the bucket, couple that with his shooting...on the court with THT/Nunn...I think offense is going to be our strong suit this season for sure. Can't wait for the season already!

 

They weren't kidding when they said he's going to have a bigger role this year. Gotta earn that new paycheck now.

Definitely don't think he should start. Rather sub in as Russ' stand in/ body double off the bench.

I think he'll make solid strides. With all the shooters we added, he's bound to learn some tricks from he vets. Also, Russ has taken on pet projects at every stop, I think he'll see a lot of himself in THT's attacking style. That could be big time.

 

Defense wins titles but the ability to score from anywhere on the floor makes defending difficult. We lost our mojo this year because we didn't have anyone who could hit a jumper period, that and we lost our size at center imo (injuries as well). For whatever reason the FO decided not to retain Dwight or Javalee and I'm sure glad we got Dwight back this season with an infusion of some shooting from guys like Monk and Nunn.

Vogel will get more out of the team defensively then most other coaches in the league. Having a true 5 back in the lineup to play his role (defense, block shots and rebound) will let AD be his most effective self. This team that Pelinka has been able to put together this year is shocking. I'm curious to see how they gel together but I'm most curious how the defend. Time will tell

 

i'll grant that not making shots has been a problem for the team, but size wasn't an issue last year. we weren't getting beat up inside by anybody.

our primary problem last year was that AD wasn't AD, and then he wasn't there at all. and lebron wasn't there and then he wasn't lebron.

 

Yep, 100% this

 

Totally agree except that we didn't have big guys to play the role of defending, blocking shots, rebounding and flying to the rim for oops and quick drop passes in the lane for easy buckets. Gasol was a shell of his former self, basically had cement shoes on every game and was far from the defensive presence he's been in the past. AD does much better when flanked by guys that can defend the 5 and draw defenders on the offensive end away from the paint or make themselves available (slashing to the basket) for those quick dish passes leading to easy at the rim buckets. Gasol was definitely not that guy nor was Drummond. Both needed to play with their backs to the basket on the block to be somewhat effective offensively (which neither really were) or Gasol parked behind the 3 point line.

We played a much more efficient game with guys like Howard and McGee who knew their roles and were better defenders. You could see the difference between the last 2 years and last year our bigs were garbage for a LeBron and AD led team imo

 

i know nobody will accept this (because they haven't for the full year), but howard and mcgee weren't better defenders than gasol.

 

Do you think Gasol contributed defensively last year better then Howard or McGee the year prior? I respect your opinion but I have to agree to disagree here

 

header:



marc last year:



howard's last two years:




mcgee's last two years:



depends on which measure you want to use, i guess. but i like dbpm more than dws.

gasol gets hate because he's fat, i think. he's been our best center in the lebron era, though.

 

I disagree too. You could see the fear of teams to attack the basket when block party was on. Last year it was the opposite.

I didn't saw a washed Marc and I think he's just too experient to get burned on defense, of course he will get beaten more often. If anything, I think he was poorly used on offense and should have had more playmaking duties.

Vogel also kind of agrees that he wasn't a good defender as it justifies why he never played with Trez

 

Was that about Marc or trez? And what was the starting unit’s defensive rating?

 

It's a different kind of defence isn't it. Marc is positionally better than Dwight and McGee, however they have the athleticism on him. To me Gasol and Howard are both positive defenders and are decent pieces to have for the 5 spot.

 

Interesting note, THT is now apparently the third highest paid player from his draft class.

 

i agree. they're both solid defensive centers. only one of them is constantly questioned in that regard, though. marc gasol was precisely none of our problems last year.

not being a first rounder has its privileges!

i'm glad nobody got stupid and poison-pilled him. it will be interesting to see if he keeps developing or fizzles out (i could see it going either way). i don't think what we paid is too much to find out.

 

I thought he is the highest paid now? I saw Ja’s salary a little above 9M, don’t know about Zion, but Keith Smith said THT is now number one

 

Agree happy no poison pill offer. Also happy no one seems to have mentioned a PO on 3rd year?

 

hmm...i just assumed there was one.

 

Huh, pretty sure what I heard also came from Keith Smith lol. But yeah, I’m seeing Ja at $9.6M, Zion at $10.7M, so I guess it depends on how THT’s contract is structured.

Maybe we can use this as evidence in the future to continue convincing good prospects to tank to/out of the second round so we can sign em. If they’re betting on themselves, it’s a quicker route to a bigger payday than a late first round pick.