Lakers coach Frank Vogel was interviewed recently.
Commenting on Tarren Horton Tucker's defensive performance, Vogel said: "You talked about the defensive end and who would be that defensive gatekeeper? He was challenged. It was an important growth season for him. He's capable, he's been a young player for the last two seasons and as our season goes by he's promoted to a little bit. Considering that KCP (Pop) and Alex (Caruso) are not here, he is one of the kind of players you would expect, can you stand up and fill the role, defending some of the best players against each other?
"The inner confidence needs to be cultivated over a long period of time and one of the things you like about him is that he does have that humility and acting as a sponge, he knows he's a young player and wants to get better, he has that mentality of helping the team no matter what. He has the right attitude, but he also has a lot of confidence and courage to shoot the shots you mention, rush into the crowd, fearlessly burst under the basket, and improve his decision-making ability when he gets there. So he has many qualities. We think he's going to improve his three-point shooting performance this season, because of his training and shooting choices, and he also has the opportunity to compete on the defensive end, against some great players. ”
(Editor: Yao Fan)