On Tuesday night, the Los Angeles Lakers looked towards Dalton Knecht to fill the fifth starting spot once again amid the ongoing injury woes of Rui Hachimura. Knecht has been phenomenal in his three previous games prior to their NBA Cup clash against the Utah Jazz, and with each passing game, he is cementing himself as more and more of an important rotation piece for the Purple and Gold. But then Knecht simply took his game to the next level against the Jazz — tallying 37 points with nine made triples following a third-quarter heater that had Utah head coach Will Hardy enraged.
Knecht could not be stopped as he scored 21 straight points for the Lakers from the end of the third to the start of the fourth quarter. He was the main catalyst for how the Lakers extended their lead beyond the Jazz’s reach in what ended up being a closer-than-expected 124-118 win, and it looks as though the best is yet to come for Knecht, as his incredible play as of late is earning him the good graces of head coach JJ Redick and the entire team.
According to Jovan Buha of The Athletic, Knecht’s recent offensive emergence has earned him more of the Lakers coaches’ trust, which will result in more minutes from here on out, as per Redick.
With Hachimura’s injury status in question, there is a major opportunity for Knecht to grab a stranglehold on a starting job with the Lakers. They decided to promote Cam Reddish to the starting lineup anyway, giving them more mobility and range on the defensive end, which should at least make Knecht’s life on defense easier.
There is simply no way the Lakers can keep a short leash on Knecht after he has produced big-time over the past four games. During that span, Knecht averaged 24.3 points per game — tallying the same number of points as LeBron James has during that span. It will do the rookie’s confidence a world of good if he’s rewarded for his good play, and it certainly looks like the Lakers are going to do whatever they can to facilitate his ascent.
Dalton Knecht is putting it together for thee Lakers
What made the Lakers’ draft selection of Dalton Knecht such a major steal was that the 23-year-old shooting guard has such a ready-made NBA skillset. Any LeBron James and Anthony Davis-led teams need shooters, and Knecht fit the bill rather well.
But it’s Knecht’s personality and fearlessness that has endeared him rather quickly to the entire Lakers team. And head coach JJ Redick couldn’t have put better how Knecht’s impact goes beyond his ability to space the floor.
“He’s fearless. In terms of what that does for the energy of the group, the energy of the arena, I think not just tonight, but whether it was the Memphis game or the start of the fourth when we beat Sacramento here, his shot-making gets us going, it’s a real weapon for our group,” Redick said, via the official NBA account on X (formerly Twitter).
“His shotmaking gets us going, it’s a real weapon for our group.”
– Coach Redick on Knecht, the Lakers 17th pick
https://t.co/kCD4i5ONtT pic.twitter.com/xhtsE1R9pM
— NBA (@NBA) November 20, 2024
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