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Ayayi was quiet in summer league and pre-season. Makes his game vs UCLA that much more infuriating.
Preseason doesn’t matter. He’s probably a superstar in the regular season. Lakers making a mistake
**LA LAKERS THREAD** Sitting on 17! 2023-2024 offseason begins
- Thread in 'Sports & Training' Thread starter Started by licensed to ball,
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Preseason doesn’t matter. He’s probably a superstar in the regular season. Lakers making a mistake
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I think the only time the this thread hasn't been wild was when we stunk and all we wanted was draft capitol.
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^^
Poster of Westbrook's wallet for your Laker wall of fame
Poster of Westbrook's wallet for your Laker wall of fame
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Our guards could never.
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Season preview:
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Then told him to go **** himself when he wanted 3/30 deal
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Swear to god the Wizards are the Lakers true G-League team.
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Talen Horton-Tucker, Los Angeles Lakers
It might have been a year early to put Horton-Tucker here, even before he tore a ligament in his thumb; he is competing for minutes with a pile of veterans, and he hit just 28% on 3s last season -- including a hideous 15% from the corners. There are many miles between those marks and shooting well enough to play alongside LeBron James. No one will guard Horton-Tucker on the perimeter until he makes teams pay.
But he is by far the most important young player on an old team; the Lakers signaled as much by re-signing Horton-Tucker to a three-year, $30.8 million deal, effectively choosing him over Alex Caruso, and coaches discussed the possibility of starting Horton-Tucker this season, sources say.
The Lakers are searching for two-way wings to round out Anthony Davis-at-center lineups, and Horton-Tucker could be one the moment he hits enough open 3s. He has the profile to guard across the positional spectrum: quick feet, stoutness, and a giant, 7-foot-1 wingspan. (He led all returning L.A. rotation players in deflections per minute.) Horton-Tucker makes typical young guy mistakes -- he can be reckless gambling for steals -- but he tries hard, always in a stance with his head on a swivel, and reads the game.
Frank Vogel inserted Horton-Tucker for Games 4 and 5 of the Lakers' 2020 Western Conference semifinals series against the Houston Rockets -- the only two games Horton-Tucker appeared in during L.A.'s title run -- to see what he might do against Harden. "We all felt we would look back and ask ourselves: Why didn't we try him?" Vogel recalls.
Vogel spent part of the team's post-championship flight home raving about Horton-Tucker to executives.
Horton-Tucker also can be a deterrent at the rim. During one recent practice, he caught James with a chase-down block -- a role reversal that excited coaches and executives, sources say.
Horton-Tucker's ballhandling would seem less useful with Russell Westbrook joining James -- and presumably running things when James rests -- but it's part of the intrigue. The deeper you advance, the more ballhandling you need. Horton-Tucker's jagged, stop-and-start rhythm is tough for defenders to grasp. A ridiculous 53% of his shots came at the rim -- a 99th percentile share, per Cleaning the Glass.
Horton-Tucker can screen for James, dart into open space, and make plays off the bounce. That opponents often hide point guards on Horton-Tucker only lends that two-man game power: You either switch that little guy onto the game's all-time chess master or put your defense into rotation.
Horton-Tucker is also big enough to eventually bully those guards in the post -- if he hones that skill. Right now, he settles for too many spinning fadeaways.
Horton-Tucker can zoom up from the corner and into empty-side pick-and-rolls with Davis -- with no defender in traditional help position.
Such quick-hitting action makes it harder for defenses to duck picks against Horton-Tucker. (He also is good at using screens two and three times until one of them hits.)
He is decisive catching and slashing into open corridors when defenders slough away from him.
In rehearsing zone defense and offense during camp, the Lakers found this sort of slashing through gaps made Horton-Tucker a zone-destroyer. "He knifed through the zone four or five straight times," Vogel says. "We looked at each other and thought, 'That's better than any perimeter shooting or movement sets we could use against the zone.'"
Horton-Tucker is a slick interior passer; he dished five dimes per 36 minutes last season. The Lakers want to run, and Horton-Tucker is another guy who can grab and go after rebounds.
But he can get frenetic in traffic -- prodding into nothingness, missing passes, even colliding with teammates. Note James motioning for Horton-Tucker to pass once the play is dead.
Gaining James' trust can be hard for role players -- doubly so for blah shooters. Horton-Tucker played just 43 minutes alongside both James and Davis last season -- shockingly low, even given injuries to both L.A. superstars.
Still: It just feels like the best version of these Lakers -- both this season and maybe more pointedly next season -- involves a decent amount of Horton-Tucker.
It might have been a year early to put Horton-Tucker here, even before he tore a ligament in his thumb; he is competing for minutes with a pile of veterans, and he hit just 28% on 3s last season -- including a hideous 15% from the corners. There are many miles between those marks and shooting well enough to play alongside LeBron James. No one will guard Horton-Tucker on the perimeter until he makes teams pay.
But he is by far the most important young player on an old team; the Lakers signaled as much by re-signing Horton-Tucker to a three-year, $30.8 million deal, effectively choosing him over Alex Caruso, and coaches discussed the possibility of starting Horton-Tucker this season, sources say.
The Lakers are searching for two-way wings to round out Anthony Davis-at-center lineups, and Horton-Tucker could be one the moment he hits enough open 3s. He has the profile to guard across the positional spectrum: quick feet, stoutness, and a giant, 7-foot-1 wingspan. (He led all returning L.A. rotation players in deflections per minute.) Horton-Tucker makes typical young guy mistakes -- he can be reckless gambling for steals -- but he tries hard, always in a stance with his head on a swivel, and reads the game.
Frank Vogel inserted Horton-Tucker for Games 4 and 5 of the Lakers' 2020 Western Conference semifinals series against the Houston Rockets -- the only two games Horton-Tucker appeared in during L.A.'s title run -- to see what he might do against Harden. "We all felt we would look back and ask ourselves: Why didn't we try him?" Vogel recalls.
Vogel spent part of the team's post-championship flight home raving about Horton-Tucker to executives.
Horton-Tucker also can be a deterrent at the rim. During one recent practice, he caught James with a chase-down block -- a role reversal that excited coaches and executives, sources say.
Horton-Tucker's ballhandling would seem less useful with Russell Westbrook joining James -- and presumably running things when James rests -- but it's part of the intrigue. The deeper you advance, the more ballhandling you need. Horton-Tucker's jagged, stop-and-start rhythm is tough for defenders to grasp. A ridiculous 53% of his shots came at the rim -- a 99th percentile share, per Cleaning the Glass.
Horton-Tucker can screen for James, dart into open space, and make plays off the bounce. That opponents often hide point guards on Horton-Tucker only lends that two-man game power: You either switch that little guy onto the game's all-time chess master or put your defense into rotation.
Horton-Tucker is also big enough to eventually bully those guards in the post -- if he hones that skill. Right now, he settles for too many spinning fadeaways.
Horton-Tucker can zoom up from the corner and into empty-side pick-and-rolls with Davis -- with no defender in traditional help position.
Such quick-hitting action makes it harder for defenses to duck picks against Horton-Tucker. (He also is good at using screens two and three times until one of them hits.)
He is decisive catching and slashing into open corridors when defenders slough away from him.
In rehearsing zone defense and offense during camp, the Lakers found this sort of slashing through gaps made Horton-Tucker a zone-destroyer. "He knifed through the zone four or five straight times," Vogel says. "We looked at each other and thought, 'That's better than any perimeter shooting or movement sets we could use against the zone.'"
Horton-Tucker is a slick interior passer; he dished five dimes per 36 minutes last season. The Lakers want to run, and Horton-Tucker is another guy who can grab and go after rebounds.
But he can get frenetic in traffic -- prodding into nothingness, missing passes, even colliding with teammates. Note James motioning for Horton-Tucker to pass once the play is dead.
Gaining James' trust can be hard for role players -- doubly so for blah shooters. Horton-Tucker played just 43 minutes alongside both James and Davis last season -- shockingly low, even given injuries to both L.A. superstars.
Still: It just feels like the best version of these Lakers -- both this season and maybe more pointedly next season -- involves a decent amount of Horton-Tucker.
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Kief really would have been the perfect guy for this squad, wish we coulda brought him back.
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Who starting at C?
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Good chance he is washed, but he's kind of what this team needs with Ariza out. Kind of like a seasoned version of Sekou.
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Spacing center.
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Pick iwundo. Need wings
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team shouldve never signed ariza tbh
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I saw the Aminu thing but dude has somehow gotten worse at shooting the rock throughout the years, I would rather the flyer on Ennis.
two way player we signed.
two way player we signed.
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We got Ariza just to throw another lengthy player at KD if we play them.
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First week predictions:
GSW:
Team will be still in preseason mode. Expect a poor game by Westbrook as he overthinks things to start the season. Without Ellington ariza and THT along with hobbled Monk and Nunn, I think it’s more of the preseason type game. Close at times but ultimately we lose by 8. I expect Reaves to get about 12 mins this
109-101
PHX:
A seasoned healthy suns team will have a field day against us as we still figure things out. Won’t be close. Suns by 16. Cp3 will put Jordan in pick and roll nightmare. Westbrook will improve slightly but team will still preach “parience” after. ESPN will melt down.
114-88.
after these two games lakers will start to string together wins as they get rhythm.
GSW:
Team will be still in preseason mode. Expect a poor game by Westbrook as he overthinks things to start the season. Without Ellington ariza and THT along with hobbled Monk and Nunn, I think it’s more of the preseason type game. Close at times but ultimately we lose by 8. I expect Reaves to get about 12 mins this
109-101
PHX:
A seasoned healthy suns team will have a field day against us as we still figure things out. Won’t be close. Suns by 16. Cp3 will put Jordan in pick and roll nightmare. Westbrook will improve slightly but team will still preach “parience” after. ESPN will melt down.
114-88.
after these two games lakers will start to string together wins as they get rhythm.
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he’s backkkkkkkk
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Team must be scared by the injuries.
Edit:
Edit:
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Somebody definitely getting traded this season 
