Bench production was an area of concern coming into the 2024-25 season for the Los Angeles Lakers. There have been improvements since the start of the year though as D’Angelo Russell and Dalton Knecht have been two players that have been relied on heavily off the bench.
However, Knecht in particular has struggled mightily as of late to find consistency in his shooting. As is the case for rookies, they tend to struggle more on the road compared to being at home and the No. 17 overall pick simply needed a big game to get back on track.
He got that on Christmas Day as the former Tennessee Volunteer scored 13 points and seven rebounds on 5-for-9 from the field. Before that game, Knecht had not scored in double figures since Dec. 6 against the Atlanta Hawks and for a scorer of his caliber, that must have been a tough stretch.
However, he took the time to acknowledge the kind of player he is and to thank his teammates and coaches for continuing to express confidence in him whenever he is out on the floor.
“To be honest, I really don’t care about makes or misses. I know that I’m a really good shooter,” Knecht said after practice on Friday. “No matter what, if I’m open or someone contests, I’m going to shoot it. My teammates got confidence, JJ [Redick] has been saying that he has confidence in me to go out there and shoot it. So, I’m just going to keep shooting those shots.”
As mentioned, playing in hostile environments has not treated Knecht well up to this point. But it was impressive that he put up a bounce-back performance in San Francisco in his first Christmas Day game. The rookie spoke to what it meant to play on a stage of that magnitude.
“I’d say it’s a dream come true,” Knecht said. “I think every single one of us dreamed of playing on Christmas Day. You know, my first year in the NBA, I get to play on Christmas. It was special, I know it was special for my family as well.”
It is also worth mentioning is that the Lakers-Warriors matchup is already being slotted as one of the best and highest-rated Christmas Day games ever. Seeing how LeBron James and Stephen Curry went toe to toe, Knecht’s performance off the bench while missing Russell and Anthony Davis was greatly needed.
Hopefully, putting together a quality game of that magnitude, given the stage, is what propels the 23-year-old into finding his rhythm once again.
Dalton Knecht Rookie of the Year odds move with Jared McCain injury
Up to this point, it felt like Philadelphia 76ers rookie guard Jared McCain was running away with the Rookie of the Year given his scoring outputs. Unfortunately, McCain suffered a torn meniscus, sidelining him for an extended period.
Now, odds have shifted opening the door for Lakers guard Dalton Knecht to re-insert himself into the race for this elusive award.
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