Lakers: 5 things Talen Horton-Tucker needs to improve to be an all-star
By Robert Marvi
5. Talen Horton-Tucker must finish stronger at the rim
Perhaps the most unique quality that Horton-Tucker possesses is his uncanny ability to snake his way to the rim and convert layups, particularly reverse layups.
However, when he decides to dunk the ball, he is pretty unreliable.
Horton-Tucker has missed several dunks this season, and certainly more than one would expect to see from a guard as explosive as him. Some of it may be due to his limited vertical leap (measured at just 34.5 inches at the NBA combine), but he can still do much better, perhaps by looking to dunk with two hands instead of one.
He is shooting 62.8 percent from within 3 feet through the first 51 games of this season. That’s pretty good, but it could stand to improve a bit.
Like many young players, Horton-Tucker has room for improvement when it comes to finishing with his off-hand near the rim.
Since getting to the cup is his specialty, he should double down on it and look to become one of the league’s very best finishers.
As Bruce Lee once said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”