Orlando Magic 2019 NBA Draft Preview: Talen Horton-Tucker shows promise, lacks sizzle

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Talen Horton-Tucker, Iowa State Cyclones, Texas Longhorns

AMES, IA – FEBRUARY 2: Talen Horton-Tucker #11 of the Iowa State Cyclones puts pressure on as Dylan Osetkowski #21 of the Texas Longhorns passes the ball in the first half of play at Hilton Coliseum on February 2, 2019 in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa State Cyclones won 65-60 over the Texas Longhorns. (Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images) /

Using his length

Welt-Ham Special

Where else does Talen Horton-Tucker’s length show up? On the defensive end of course.

Take a look at this clip:

Now this is not the greatest play fundamentally by Horton-Tucker. He could have been called for a foul. But you can see how he fully uses his length.

That is a tool you cannot teach. That is why John Hammond and Jeff Weltman love that attribute as much as they do. And why Horton-Tucker is creating so much interest around the league.

Here is another clip which better shows off Horton-Tucker using his length:

Here Horton-Tucker slips his man in the post and grabs the steal.

Again, look at the full extension of his wingspan. That is an incredible tool.

In addition to these types of plays you often see Horton-Tucker using his length to disrupt shooters. But he oftentimes seems to rely on his length to bail him out of poor IQ plays.

A little shot-creation

While Horton-Tucker does not generally do a great job of creating space of the dribble there was one move that I kept seeing him resort to in order to create space:

The step-back jumper is definitely one of Horton-Tucker’s favorite moves. It looks a little herky-jerky but he consistently creates space with this move.

This move creates quite a bit of space for Horton-Tucker.

But as good as this step-back move is, it just is not a viable shot for Horton-Tucker right now. He is a poor shooter at this point but if he can turn himself into a better shooter, this move can be a go to for him.