Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht has been on a remarkable journey in his first NBA season. He went from key rotation player to an extended slump that benched him. Then, he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets, only for the deal to be rescinded and for him to return to the Lakers. He slowly started to break out of his slump, then received a big opportunity on Sunday against the L.A. Clippers.
With Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves and Jordan Goodwin all out of the lineup, Knecht was asked to play his most minutes — 24:56 — since Dec. 28 of last year. He responded with 19 points on 5-for-8 from beyond the arc, his most points and 3-pointers made in a game in over one month.
It was the first time since the rescinded trade that Knecht looked truly comfortable on the court and fully back within the flow of the Lakers offense and defense. He spoke about how he was able to get back to that.
“Just staying confident, getting back to my groove and stuff like that,” Knecht said. “Like I said earlier, just staying confident. Teammates were finding me and I was just knocking down shots tonight.”
With everything that’s happened to Knecht this season, it’s fair that it took him some time to get back to doing what he does best on the court. But he reiterated that he was not losing any faith in himself and that’s what allowed him to bounce back.
“Mainly just staying confident on the court,” he added. “Just sticking with it and playing out there confident with my teammates. My teammates know what I can do and I’m just trying to stay consistent for them and make life easy for my teammates.”
In the time between his last stint in the rotation and now, the Lakers have undergone some monumental shifts. This is especially true on the defensive end, where Knecht had to really work hard to be in a rhythm.
“Yeah, for sure. That’s one of our things is trying to be very consistent on the defensive end and executing our game plan. It leads to easy transition buckets for us, and we just try to feed off our crowd,” Knecht said.
The Lakers are going to need Knecht if Hachimura, Reaves and even Goodwin are going to have extended absences. And as the team gears up for the playoffs, having a confident Knecht adds another layer to what the team can do offensively as they contend for a championship.
Gabe Vincent believes Lakers are building an identity
One of the things that allowed players like Dalton Knecht to seamlessly fit back in is a consistent identity. And guard Gabe Vincent believes that, over the recent weeks, the Lakers are doing just that with the game plans being set by JJ Redick and the hustle from the entire roster.
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