Lakers News: Frank Vogel Talks LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Talen Horton-Tucker

Talen Horton-Tucker wasn't ticketed for a major role in the Los Angeles Lakers' restructured backcourt heading into the 2020-21 NBA season, but the second-year guard's terrific performance so far in the preseason could force the coaching staff into some tough decisions.

Horton-Tucker opened the exhibition slate Friday with 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals in an 87-81 win over the rival Los Angeles Clippers. He backed it up Sunday in a rematch with the Clips, tallying 33 points on the strength of five three-pointers along with 10 boards in a 131-106 victory.

"It's going to make my job difficult for sure," Lakers head coach Frank Vogel told reporters after the 20-year-old Iowa State product's second straight standout game.

L.A. spent the offseason bolstering its depth to help defend its title. Dennis Schroder, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Wesley Matthews, Alex Caruso and Quinn Cook are the other backcourt options.

Anything less than a dominant preseason showing from Horton-Tucker would have likely led to a second straight season splitting time between the Lakers and the G League. Instead, he's been the team's best player through two games and that's not lost on Vogel.

"We have a very deep team. No minutes are guaranteed," Vogel said. "He's going to keep playing at a high level, and that should push everybody else to stay playing at a high level. It does give us that luxury of having him carry the load some for some of our guys who played deep in the championship run last year and had a short offseason."

The Chicago native, a second-round pick in the 2019 draft, also received a Twitter shoutout from LeBron James after the exhibition opener:

Speaking of James, he's spent the first two preseason contests alongside fellow superstar Anthony Davis on the Lakers bench.

Vogel told reporters Sunday it's all part of the plan to slowly build up the team's cornerstones so they're ready to roll when the regular season tips off Dec. 22 against the Clippers:

"Well, they're not ready yet, but they will be on the 22nd, and when we're ready to start games, those guys will be ready to go. But we've been trying to strike that balance of easing them in enough while at the same time making sure they're working to be ready for the beginning of the season. I think they both look really good. They're probably not ready to play in a regular-season game today, but they're both in good shape and hopefully can continue to build up to the start of the season."

The Lakers coach added both James and Davis should log at least some minutes in L.A.'s final two preseason games against the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday and Friday.

"They've been participating heavily in practice and gonna sit these first two preseason games out," Vogel said. "Hopefully (they) play in the final two preseason games, play some in Game 3 and more in Game 4. Get as close as possible to a dress rehearsal leading into the regular season."

The NBA sent a memo to teams last week saying it would relax rules related to player rest early in the 2020-21 season because of the short turnaround as long as they aren't missing nationally televised games, per ESPN's Tim Bontemps.

Los Angeles will likely take advantage of those eased restrictions to make sure James and Davis aren't pushed too hard over the first couple of months, especially since its added depth can help keep the team near the top of the Western Conference standings.

That could be the path toward more initial playing time for Horton-Tucker with the Lakers probably utilizing more three-guard looks when James is resting. His performance in those opportunities could go a long way to earning him a role when the star-studded roster is at full strength.