It has not taken long for rookie Dalton Knecht to make an immense impact for the Los Angeles Lakers, whether that be coming off the bench or starting. Currently, he is making a case to be a full-time starter due to his recent play, notably dropping a career-high 37 points against the Utah Jazz.
While Knecht seems to have established an offensive rhythm, that means more defensives are going to game plan against him to prevent clean looks from 3-point range. The most recent example being against the Orlando Magic on Saturday, who are known to be an excellent defensive team.
Despite Orlando’s length, Knecht was able to put up 17 points on 7-for-14 from the field and 3-for-7 from 3-point land. He acknowledged that teams are focusing more on him, but the Lakers’ execution offensively has helped him get good looks.
“For sure, but I feel like I still got a lot of good looks,” Knecht said. “I think to be honest, every time I shot the ball it was a good look. So my teammates will be looking for me all of the time and JJ will be calling plays and like I said earlier, it’s just executing.”
What makes the former Tennessee Volunteer different from typical shooters is that he is athletic and can do more than just shoot 3-pointers. Thankfully, when the 3-point shot is not there, Knecht is now able to attack closeouts and display the three-level scorer he can be.
“I think that’s always been a part of my game,” he said. “I don’t think I’m just a 3-point shooter, I think I’m a three-level scorer. I showed that throughout college that I got a midrange, I can do floaters, go in the paint, dunk on somebody or finish over the top of them. I think teams are just starting to realize that I can really shoot the ball on catch-and-shoots and now I’m just showing them what I can do also.”
The rookie is shooting 50% from 3 in his last 10 games, which feels abnormal for a shooter on the Lakers. But, his shooting seems to be legit and will only continue to boost his confidence moving forward.
However, the next step is to round out the rest of his offensive game to become a multi-faceted scorer. Then again, at 23-years-old, Knecht is NBA-ready and is displaying tremendous promise only 15 games into the season.
Dalton Knecht surprised he fell in draft but ‘very blessed’ to land with Lakers
This is the second straight year where a lottery-level talent fell to the Lakers at No. 17. Thankfully, L.A. did not pass up on this opportunity to draft Dalton Knecht out of Tennessee.
Considering he did not work out for the purple and gold before the draft, Knecht was admittedly surprised by his fall but is ‘very blessed’ to have landed with the Lakers.
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