Dalton Knecht fell to the Los Angeles Lakers in this year’s draft in large part due to his age as he is already 23 years old after five years in college. But that just means he is ready to contribute immediately and after a slow start to the season, Knecht is giving LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers exactly the kind of support they need.
Knecht had his best game of the season when the Lakers really needed it, dropping a career-high 27 points, including five 3-pointers, to go along with seven rebounds, two assists and two steals as the Lakers defeated a feisty New Orleans Pelicans team on the second night of a back-to-back.
Knecht and Davis sparked the Lakers in the third quarter, helping them overcome a sluggish first half performance. Afterward, Davis expressed the confidence the Lakers have in Knecht when he shoots the ball.
“Anytime he shoots the ball I think it’s going in, that’s why we get so frustrated and upset when he doesn’t shoot,” Davis said of Knecht. “He’s a great player. He can defend, he can shoot, he can put it on the floor, he can pass, so he can do it all. But when he has his stretches where he gets hot it’s a big boost for our team and we’re able to feed off that energy and most of the time we make a run off of it.”
Despite Knecht’s inexperience as a rookie, Davis believes his age and the time he spent in college have him ready to make an impact right away for the Lakers.
“He’s not really a young player so he’s seen a lot of defenses, obviously with his scoring ability through his college career. He’s already pro-ready, it’s kind of like how Dame [Lillard] was,” Davis added. “You go through college for so long, you kinda mature, get older. So now he doesn’t need that confidence, but when you have guys telling you to shoot the ball that usually shows that we have the utmost confidence in you to go out there and make shots.
“He takes big time shots, he makes big time shots and it gives us a boost, especially when two or three go in we’re looking for him. We’re looking for him to shoot the basketball and it just kinda opens up everything else for us.”
The emergence of Knecht changes the Lakers’ ceiling and his role should only continue to increase moving forward as he gets more and more comfortable.
LeBron James not surprised by Dalton Knecht
Similar to Anthony Davis, LeBron James has not been surprised by the recent performances he has seen from Dalton Knecht as he knew the rookie was pro-ready when the Lakers drafted him.
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