Talen Horton-Tucker Discussion: Growing Pains

I don’t know where this bad thumb thing came from, but if he needed surgery he wouldn’t be playing. Or the very least it would be taped up like Kobe used to do with his ring finger.

The simplest answer is usually the correct one and he is just a young kid who will have ups and downs.

 

He is starting because Vogel wants effort on D. Same reason why Bradley gets starting minutes. I also think if he injured his thumb he wouldn’t be poking his hand in everywhere on the defensive side.

Without any real evidence to his thumb being a problem, I feel we have to just accept the fact that his offence is limited. He isn’t a good shooter and can resemble a young Randle when driving towards the basket without consistent vision of where his teammates are. Teams play him to score and know he doesn’t like using his off hand.

 

THT was really good (I mean outstanding) as an on ball defender at times last night. In the second half key sequence: shut down Tatum and then a play or two later stopped DS and then blocked him.

So THT is going to get minutes because of his defense and w/o Ariza he becomes the de facto stopper for big wings and any SG with decent size. But then as you noted why handicap the poor kid by playing him with first Howard last game and now Bradley. Just brutal in terms of lack of shooting plus redundant skillsets. There was a play I think THT twice in between Russ so a total of 3 times in one play got into the paint drew the defense found the open man at the 3 and the open man didn't want to shoot it because it was Bradley/Russ/AD at the 3 line

 

Teams are starting to prepare for him. He just needs to keep improving. He just turned 21. The issue playing in LA is there is zero patience so he is gonna have to block that out.

 

yeah...still think 8% from three over a several game stretch might mean his hand's not ok. there are plenty of examples of guys playing at less than 100% when the situation is dire. which ours sort of has been.

 

So you're saying that THT can only play with Monk, Ellington? That's kinda short

 

No what I'm saying it makes no sense to play with no shooting: i.e. two other rim attackers, AD, and another non 3 point threat. He did real well when starting with Melo for example

 

i think THT is playing because he actually works on defense and is less tiny than the rest of our perimeter options. i think vogel told the FO he'd try their way for 10-15 games, then he wanted to play defense again. hence bradley and THT starting and DJ going into witness protection. these are just my theories.

 

Occam’s razor ….. politics FO with THT and team with LeBron and AD if he steps on any bro bud vet toes or lose their efforts such as they are capable of giving …. by playing Reaves over them. Now that we are no longer desperately short on bodies. In my occam.

 

I don't know...Reaves is no Caruso either. It's not so cut and dried, that he is a better option to start. He has a better stroke on the jumper than Alex, but the feet aren't the same caliber on defense. He had his own issues against Houston and OKC... teams with young athletic guys on the perimeter. Some games or stretches of games, it could be Tucker, Monk, Ellington or Reaves. Just depends on the matchups.

 

Yeah, agreed in my other post in Frank's thread, if not ready or capable of starting, at the least give him minutes in Caruso's role where it makes sense and matchups without "breaking him". Since defense is Vogel's thing first and foremost. Austin is better at it than most of the guards, probably most of the time, and has very beneficial switching size, plus is not a negative on offense. Likely a big plus being that he can shoot and play make when the opportunity or necessity arises, in addition to standing in the corner.

 

Very good tonight.

 

He's got all NBA defense potential.
The natural athletic ability plus physical attributes you could see it but now it seems to be clicking.

At least on ball defense (hard for me to judge off ball sometimes in game) today he was really good. It seemed every other play he got a deflection or steal

 

Those go-go gadget arms are paying off