Los Angeles Lakers are keen on rotating its bench because they haven’t got much to lose. They need to gain confidence in their starting five because, at present, they’re struggling big time catching up on a decent offensive or net rating. But seems to us that Frank Vogel has found his man in a rookie.
The Lakers head coach is sharpening a new axe. We are hinting towards the growth of a rising star in the name of Talen Horton-Tucker. The 19-year old rookie from Chicago has done his coach proud by putting a brave show in the Orlando bubble.
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Talen Horton-Tucker has played in two games since the restart. On both occasions, he has made his presence felt by adding points to the board. His appearance against the Houston Rockets was for 19 minutes. He scored 10 points, 4 steals, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist in that game which the Lakers eventually lost. Again when playing the Indiana Pacers, he was awarded 16 minutes playtime wherein he could touch double digits in points, including one rebound. His field goal percentage is 57.1 in this rookie season.
He attracted praise from veteran forward Jared Dudley on Twitter. Jared shared South Bay Lakers’ video and wrote, “Rook is making the most of his opportunity! Working his butt off everyday and soaking up a lot of info from some of the best IQ’s in the game”. For sure, the rookie Talen has LeBron James, Frank Vogel, Anthony Davis, JR Smith, to pick their brains so early in his career.
Rook is making the most of his opportunity! Working his butt off everyday and soaking up a lot of info from some of the best IQ’s in the game https://t.co/gpPtSHlEaa
— Jared Dudley (@JaredDudley619) August 9, 2020
Frank Vogel has also praised Talen’s talent
The 6’4” tall Tucker has done the job they assigned him to do in both the games. Frank Vogel expressed his impression of the youngster by saying, “He continues to surprise and impress me.” Have a look at the complete tweet from Lakers’ Beat Reporter Mike Trudell.
Frank Vogel on rookie @Thortontucker: “He continues to surprise and impress me. He’s making a case for being in the rotation … he played really strong, looked really comfortable against a good team tonight."
— Mike Trudell (@LakersReporter) August 7, 2020
The strong-bodied Talen was drafted 46th in round 2. He played college basketball for the Iowa State Cyclones and had averaged 11.8 points, 1.3 steals, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 27 minutes of playing time per game. It is still quite early to say whether he carries a champion DNA, but he is a decent prospect.
We are hopeful that he will be given more chances as he has deserved. Let us see if he gets better playing time against the Denver Nuggets on August 10 at 9:00 PM ET.
Sources – Basketball Reference, Jared Dudley – Twitter, Mike Trudell – Twitter
