The Los Angeles Lakers may be missing LeBron James and Anthony Davis, but Talen Horton-Tucker is more than capable of putting on a show. Playing the Boston Celtics on Thursday night, the hometown folk hero went coast-to-coast before finishing with a circus layup at the rim.
The legend of THT continues to grow.
Now you see it, now you don’t.
(📺: @SpectrumSN) pic.twitter.com/g1CPimQlda
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) April 16, 2021
Collecting the rebound following a missed three-point shot from Marcus Smart, Horton-Tucker immediately pushed the ball in transition, hoping to get around what had been a suffocating Celtics defense. With the opponents backpedaling, Horton-Tucker attacked off the dribble, bullying his way through a retreating Payton Pritchard and into the interior.
Keenly aware of the lurking Jayson Tatum, who was already rotating from the weak side, THT responded with a gorgeous fake that not only fooled Tatum but provided him just enough room to complete the layup.
As stagnant as the Lakers' offense can look in the halfcourt—often reduced to contested midrange shots and failed attempts to get to the rim—the same unit can regularly produce circus-like shots in the open court, similar to the one Horton-Tucker completed.
While the Lakers have struggled to attack in transition with as much frequency as they did last season on the way to their 17th championship, they are still one of the most efficient teams when playing with pace, boasting a 64.2 percent effective field percentage in transition, according to NBA.com, good for second in the NBA.
Even with LeBron and Davis on their way back soon, Talen Horton-Tucker has clearly earned himself consistent minutes.
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