Going into the regular season, the Lakers’ guard rotation seemed to be the area of the team that had the greatest potential for change and, in 21 games, this was largely due to the emergence of Talen Horton-Tucker.
Although Horton-Tucker did not average 20 points per game as he did in the preseason, he made the most of the limited opportunities he had in the regular season. So much so that on Thursday, when the Lakers visited the Boston Celtics, Horton-Tucker played 22:59 off the bench while Wesley Matthews watched from the bench. It was only Matthews’ second DNP-CD of the season, and his first non-injury-related DNP-CD.
This change is unlikely to be permanent, and Frank Vogel said that after Thursday’s game, but that uncertainty doesn’t bother Horton-Tucker. In fact, it’s something he learned to expect in his second year in the NBA.
“I just try to be ready for everything,” said Horton-Tucker. “Not knowing what role I’m going to play when the game starts is kind of difficult, so it’s just being able to get ready and just go in and do what I do is good.”
Horton-Tucker did not have his strongest exit for the Lakers on Thursday, posting a net rating of -4.4 when he was on the ground, but he gave his team the shock of energy it needed in the fourth period . These opportunities may not always exist for Horton-Tucker, but when they are, he is confident that he can make a significant contribution.
“With basketball being the way it is, I hope to get to every game and try to be like that,” said Horton-Tucker. “But you know it won’t be like that in every game. So my goal is to get in and do what I did today. Anything to help us win. “
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