I don't know why, the Lakers always give Horton Tucker more playing time? In addition to the Lakers' Big Three this season, Tucker averaged 28.7 minutes per game, the player who played the most time outside the Big Three.
So far this season, Tucker has averaged 10.7 points, 2.9 assists and 4.8 rebounds per game. He shot 39.7 percent from the field and 25 percent from three-point range. Take another look at Anthony, the melon who has played the fifth most in the team. He averaged 13.6 points, 0.9 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game in 27.6 minutes per game, shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from three-point range. As soon as the data is compared, we know that the melon scoring efficiency is significantly higher than Tucker. So why is Vogel so heavy on Tucker?
Tucker was selected by the Lakers with the 46th pick in 2019 to enter the NBA. Tucker is 1.93m tall, weighs 107kg, and has a staggering 2.16m arm span. Static talent is so coveted, why did it fall to the 46th pick when drafting? Because when Tucker participated in the draft that year, many experts evaluated him as "in addition to the amazing arm span, technically a rough man, the ball dealer is also average."
So many teams followed the advice of experts and eventually abandoned Tucker. The Lakers chose him that year to increase the team's defense. After all, Tucker's static talent is there, and a little exercise will become the team's defensive gate. But after the Lakers signed Tucker, they barely gave him a few games. Tucker played only 6 games in the regular season that year, all playing during garbage time, averaging 5.6 points per game. Later, Tucker was well known to everyone, which happened in the 2020 Rockets vs. Lakers playoffs.
At that time, the Rockets focused on the league's popular small ball, and also had a combination of Westbrook and Harden's double MVP. In order to win the Rockets, Vogel decisively gave up howard and McGee's playing time. But in order to keep up with the Rockets' rotation and blocking, the Lakers gave Tucker some playing time. Tucker also lived up to the coach's trust, averaging only 8.6 minutes per game, scoring 7 points and 2.5 rebounds, and shooting 41% from three-point range, and since then, Vogel has become more and more trusting of Tucker.
In the second season of the Lakers, Tucker had a stable playing time in the team lineup, and averaged 9 points, 2.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds in 20.1 minutes per game. After the Lakers failed to rush the championship that season, the team lineup underwent a major change. But to the surprise of many, the Lakers eventually gave up Caruso and chose to keep Tucker. For the Lakers, is Tucker really better than Caruso?
Looking at the offensive end first, Tucker is a player with a high motivation to play. He can attack with the ball and digest some of the team's possessions. With James not playing, he can effectively share the pressure of the organization for Westbrook. Tucker's scores are generally derived from breakthroughs, Tucker's breakthroughs are not flexible, but he wins without fear of confrontation. When watching the Lakers play, we can often see Tucker hanging on to the defense to complete the layup, this style of play can enrich the Lakers' offensive tactics.
Tucker's mid-range shots are unstable, so defenders are more willing to let Tucker shoot than break through. There are more Lakers this season, so every Lakers player has a certain amount of ball loss. Tucker has been making fewer and fewer mid-range shots in the game to improve scoring efficiency. Overall, Tucker hasn't improved much on the offensive end this season, but has effectively managed mistakes.
Looking at defense, remember last year's preseason Tucker's death entanglement with Leonard? To put it bluntly, vogel entrusted Tucker with a heavy responsibility because he saw his defensive talent. With his long arms + speed of movement + tonnage, Tucker can easily defend from position 1 to position 3, and he can even play position 4 if the team needs it. Tucker's defensive sense is average, but the good thing is that he has a positive attitude.
It is also because of the excessive investment in defense that Tucker is often caught in foul trouble. Even so, Coach Vogel was willing to give Tucker more playing time to allow him to accumulate more defensive experience. Once the Lakers play the playoffs, Tucker will play an increasingly important role in the team's defense. After all, physical talent is something that not everyone can learn.
Compared to last season, the Lakers' defense this season has dropped dramatically. Especially on the front guard line, it is either old and old, or thin and thin, or in the stage of recuperation. Bazemore can defend, but his presence is often first-to-last. So the Lakers, in addition to Tucker, really can't find a few more suitable personnel at this stage. Moreover, Tucker just signed a 3-year, 30.78 million contract with the Lakers in the offseason.
Since the Big Three occupy most of the Lakers' salary space, Tucker's contract is also a big contract among role players. If Tucker is not allowed to pay the price, then his big contract is likely to rot in his hands. On the contrary, if Tucker makes a price, even if Tucker's playing style is no longer suitable for the Lakers, then choosing to trade Tucker will maximize the interests of the Lakers. As for the deal to go Ton Caruso, the management did not regret that only they themselves knew.
In fact, Tucker has also played several good games this season, especially in the game of returning from injury. They scored 25, 27 and 27 star stats respectively. But in the ensuing games, Tucker returned to the level of last season's game. Hit rates plummeted, breakthroughs were frequently missed, and defenses were occasionally off the line. This is the typical feature of Tucker's playing "high ceiling, but difficult to play efficiently".
Tucker is a young man with great potential, but he is not very suitable for the Lakers at this stage. Because the Lakers need a stable side wing 3D. Now that the Pacers have announced a rebuild, the Lakers can trade a good forward defender if they can use Tucker as their main chip. The overall performance of the Lakers will definitely be more stable.
When Nunn and Ariza return, the Lakers' offensive and defensive integrity will be more outstanding. Nunn is an excellent ball-handler, with a variety of offensive skills and scoring efficiency much better than Tucker.com. Ariza has proven himself to be a good 3D player, even at an older age with experience and skill. As long as the average game is reasonably arranged for the playing time, he can still bring great help to the Lakers.
The Lakers want to win the championship mainly by the effective play of the big three, and the role players will perform well, which will be the icing on the cake. As long as the Lakers Big Three stay healthy enough, Vogel can make reasonable use of existing role players. They remain one of the favourites to win this season. If the Lakers have not performed as well this season, I am afraid that the first to go after the end of the season will be Wei Shao. As for Tucker, who earns $10 million a year, he's just a role player for the Lakers, that's all!