The Utah Jazz can’t afford to play Talen Horton-Tucker anymore

The Utah Jazz can’t put Talen Horton-Tucker on the court anymore.

Jordan Clarkson and Talen Horton-Tucker are holding the Utah Jazz back. And while Clarkson has value as a bench scorer who can shoot the ball in bunches over a short amount of time, the fact is that Horton-Tucker is unplayable. The two men may have different styles, but they have similar personalities. They both take too many shots for how badly they’re scoring the ball, they’re both terrible passers who turn the ball over far too much and they’re both not good defenders who give up too many points.

If you’re going to give up 25 points per game, you better score 26 or more, and neither man can. Yet, Clarkson can still help the Jazz in limited action; Horton-Tucker can’t. Horton-Tucker is unplayable and the only reason he’s still getting minutes after his disastrous start is because the Jazz are looking to trade him and need him to play to improve his value.

If he can. It’s just as likely that his value continues to decline, making it reductive to keep playing him.

Horton-Ttucker has proven time and time again that he isn’t the passer needed for the team to succeed, and he’s also proven to be someone who charges the basket far too many times with his head down. He isn’t looking to pass out at all it seems, and when he does, it’s because he never intended to shoot.

Thus making it easy to anticipate what he’s going to do. If his head is down, he’s coming in to shoot, if he’s a bit slower and his head is up and on a swivel, he’s looking to pass. This is why he’s second on the team in turnovers, just behind Clarkson.

Clarkson seemingly turns the ball over more often by careless with the ball. He’ll charge the paint, as he tends to do, and will stop looking to pass out, only for him to cough up the ball. Horton-Tucker will just throw it to the wrong team more often than not.

Neither man can run the offense, but at least Clarkson makes him a viable player to get just under 20 minutes a night, just as long as he’s coming off the bench, with the second unit, and giving him the most shots of the bench guys.

He can’t start and shouldn’t be allowed to play like he’s the star of the team.

Horton-Tucker, on the other hand, is just holding the team back. It’s time to move on.