Dalton Knecht was the story of the NBA on Tuesday night as he tied a rookie record with nine 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 37 points in the Los Angeles Lakers win over the Utah Jazz. Knecht has found his stride recently, averaging 24.3 points on an unbelievable 67.7% shooting from deep over the last four games.
Coming into the season, Lakers coach JJ Redick talked up Knecht’s shooting ability, believing he was already one of the truly great shooters in the league and so far the rookie is proving him right. Following his career night, Redick called Knecht fearless, while acknowledging the energy he gives the Lakers when he gets hot.
“I’m not concerned at all with Dalton in terms of meeting the moment. He’s fearless. He’s fearless,” Redick said after the win. “And in terms of what that does for the energy of the group and 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, like his shot-making gets us going, it’s a real weapon for our group, beyond just the score. It’s a weapon that energizes us.”
Since LeBron James joined the Lakers back in 2019, there have always been talks about the team lacking a real sharpshooter, but it’s safe to say that is no longer the case.
It could be argued that Redick should start running more plays for Knecht, but the Lakers coach feels his presence on the court alone makes a major impact and it is more important for the rookie to continue earning the trust of his teammates. He did say, however, that Knecht’s recent play has earned him more minutes.
“It doesn’t change his place in the pecking order at all,” Redick added. “I think what you have to look at is he’s from where he was to start the season. He has earned more minutes. And our guys, what I think has stood out to me over the last week or so, is it similar to how Golden State has always known where Steph is on the court, or they’ve always known where Klay Thompson is or for me, when I was playing with like, DJ and he would get an offensive rebound, he always knew where I was. Blake [Griffin] knew where I was. Our guys have a real understanding.
“There was a play in New Orleans where Austin [Reaves] cut, and he got the ball and read the basket and, I mean, immediately, just like, turned and fired along the baseline without even looking at Dalton hit a three. So that’s important, versus like, ‘Oh, we got to run this.’ It’s not, we’re not going to run more plays for Dalton. It’s really just having his spacing, his threat. He’s got some off-the-bounce stuff he can do, but I mentioned before the game that he’s an excellent cutter. He’s been great with his offensive rebound crashing. So it’s more about him just earning more minutes and more trust, not just with the coaches, but with his teammates. That’s important.”
There is no doubt that his teammates believe in him as James, Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves amongst others have all spoken about their trust in Knecht’s ability to make shots. But for Redick, it is Knecht’s ability to do everything else that will keep him on the court for the Lakers going forward.
“Not gonna speculate on that,” Redick responded when asked about Knecht’s ceiling in the NBA. “I think he is a guy that with incremental growth, can become a great player in the NBA, just like incremental growth to me, him just being a little better defensively with his slides and being a little more physical. Potentially being a really good, switchable defender down the road.
“I talked about the feel earlier. He’s just got a great feel offensively. To me, it’s all the other stuff that. When he’s doing all the other stuff. It’s like, I don’t want to take you off the court. He’s such a weapon for us offensively.”
Knecht’s shooting is his calling card, but he has shown the ability to do other things as well on both ends of the floor. What he brings has made the Lakers much more difficult to deal with and he continues to rise to the occasion with each opportunity he is given.
Lakers coach JJ Redick says it’s fun to draw up plays for Dalton Knecht
In the midst of Dalton Knecht’s third quarter run for the Lakers, he was even able to draw a foul on a 3-point attempt. JJ Redick would praise all those involved in it while also noting how fun it is to draw up plays for the Lakers rookie.
“It was a play, I think it was the one where you got fouled on right after he got hot, and it was coming out off a make, and we just got. I called the play. We got right to it. And that was with Christian [Koloko]. That’s, I mean, that’s a big deal for Christian, just to recognize DLo and DK, all them just executing it, getting a good look, and obviously fouled him on the on the elbow. But, yeah, it’s fun. It’s fun. I have to be cognizant sometimes when I get really excited, when I see an ATO, or I have an idea to not have them all drawn up for Dalton.”
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