San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
LAKERS RAVING ABOUT HORTON-TUCKER
Lebron James didn’t play in the Lakers’ preseason opener Friday night, but he did tweet an early review from the film session.
“Telling you right now! This kid is flat out SPECIAL!” James tweeted. “Mark my words.”
He’d just gotten done watching his 20-year-old teammate Talen Hortontucker put the kind of allaround touches on the game that have had Lakers insiders raving for the last four months. The passing, the shot-making, the slashing — it was all on display in the Lakers’ 87-81 win over the Clippers in their first game in Staples Center since March 11.
“That boy @Thortontucker is goin to be special,” Lakers veteran Jared Dudley tweeted after the win.
Horton-tucker found himself in the starting lineup with James, Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol and Kentavious Caldwell-pope all sitting out as healthy scratches. Building off his lone start as a rookie, which came in the NBA bubble against the Sacramento Kings, Hortontucker scored 19 points to go with nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.
“It was a blessing and a great opportunity getting the start tonight. I just wanted to come in and fulfill with what they wanted me to do. That was great for me,” Hortontucker said. “I appreciate it. It was a great experience and great opportunity for me to have early on this year. I just appreciated it. I felt good out there.”
The praise wasn’t limited to social media or postgame videoconferences. At one point during the game, Horton-tucker was a topic of conversation between Clippers star Kawhi Leonard and Lakers guard Wesley Matthews, the two marveling at Horton-tucker’s age.
The second-year forward just turned 20, helping add to expectations that seem to be growing by the day.
“‘Special’ is definitely the word to describe his game,” Matthews said Saturday following practice. “He’s young, but he’s got all the tools. He’s a dog. He’s tough on the offensive end, the defensive end. He’s crafty. He’s got some stuff to him, and he’s only gonna get better.”
Coach Frank Vogel has been one of the loudest voices talking up Horton-tucker, whom the Lakers drafted out of Iowa State at No. 46 last year after trading into the second round.
“I would say he continues to impress. The young man has a great attitude, a great spirit, comes to work every day with humility, he just goes out there and kicks people’s butts, quite frankly. He’s a heck of a talent …” Vogel said last week.
Caruso injured
Lakers guard Alex Caruso, who played a crucial role off the bench during their championship season, didn’t practice Saturday after suffering a hip injury in the preseason opener.
Vogel called the injury a “hip flexor strain” and said Caruso won’t play today against the Clippers. The hope is he’ll be available once the Lakers return to practice Tuesday.
The Lakers still haven’t decided whether James or Davis will play today, Vogel said.
Notable
Malachi Flynn, the point guard out of SDSU who was taken 29th in the draft by Toronto, had an impressive NBA debut. Flynn scored nine points, going 3 of 6 from behind the arc, to go along with four assists, two rebounds and a steal in a 111-100 win over Charlotte. Flynn was a plus-35 in 20 minutes.
Hornets rookie Lamelo Ball, who was taken third in the draft, went 0 for 5 from the field but had 10 rebounds and four assists in 16 minutes.