On December 13, the Lakers beat the Magic 106-94 to win two consecutive games, this game James hit a hot 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists triple-double. Another highlight of the team was Tucker Jr.'s strong recovery with 19 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists and 6 steals, and 3-of-6 shooting from three-point range.
Tucker Jr. has lived up to the trust of Lakers general manager Pelinka and coach Vogel, who is upgrading his skills to make himself more suitable to play around James and Westbrook.
Pelinka insisted on keeping Tucker Jr. in the summer, while Vogel insisted on starting with Tucker Jr. Tucker Jr. has experienced a downturn this season. From Nov. 20 to Dec. 4, Tucker Jr. played eight games over two weeks, scoring only once in double figures. Tucker Jr. once played with James and Westbrook.
In the past, Tucker Jr. liked to attack with the ball, and the three-point shot was not accurate enough, and there were fewer empty cuts to attack. But James and Westbrook are both masters of organizing offense, playing around these two people, and it is best for outside players to be good at shooting three points and good at empty-cut offense, otherwise it will affect the overall offense of the team.
Tucker Jr. changed, and he played a good example of this game, turning himself into a 3D outside player. He staged crazy steals and set new career highs. He quickly stealed Magic point guard Cole Anthony in the first quarter, Gary Harris in the second quarter, and Okiki in consecutive steals. In the second half he made more steals on Cole Anthony and Terence Rose.
Tucker Jr. has a long arm span, is extremely fast, has good defensive conditions, and if he works defense, he can indeed become a league defense master.
For the Lakers, the team not only requires Tucker Jr. to improve defensively, but also needs him to support the giants on the offensive end. In this game, Tucker Jr.'s offense is basically to find an open spot to catch the ball, or to score an attack in an empty cut. Such an offense is exactly what the Lakers need.
Tucker Jr. has been consistent in his last three games, shooting 16-of-31 and 5-of-10 from three-point range. Tucker Jr. has scored in double figures in four consecutive games. The Lakers demon star has been very suitable for Zhan Huang and Wei Shao, which will make more teams hungry.