Without a doubt, the story coming out of the Los Angeles Lakers’ overtime win over the Phoenix Suns was rookie Dalton Knecht. The rookie showed exactly why coach JJ Redick and the rest of the Lakers have been so high on him, scoring 20 straight Lakers points between the fourth quarter and overtime and finishing with 35 on the night.
Knecht was absolutely on fire, knocking down eight 3-pointers and making the Lakers fans inside the Footprint Arena and his teammates on the bench go wild. He hit a pair of threes in the final minute of the fourth to send the game to overtime and continued his hot streak from there.
It was a special performance that Redick knew he was capable of. Following the contest, the Lakers coach spoke about Knecht’s overall mentality and the fact that he has no fear when he is on the court via Spectrum SportsNet:
“It was an incredible performance. Reggie (Miller) and I were talking about it before the game and he was like ‘That’s high praise to say he is in the 1% of shooters!’ And I’m like ‘No, he’s in the 1% of shooters.’ The thing about him is just the mentality. It’s been very obvious in pickup before the season, in training camp, thus far in games, he’s got no fear. He’s not afraid of the moment. That was a show that he put on. My assistants tried to tell me not to bring him back in the game with four minutes to go, so I’m gonna get them afterwards, I’ll tell you that (laughs).”
Perhaps the most promising aspect of the night for Knecht was that he never hesitated in taking his shots. He was completely confident in his ability to make anything he put up, which is what you’re looking for in a shooter.
Knecht had the hot hand, and he was going to keep shooting while he did. Redick certainly knows about having a hot hand from his playing days, and the Lakers coach feels Knecht’s night is proof that the hot hand theory is a real thing, despite statistical data saying otherwise:
“It’s interest, I did a project in my statistics class on the hot hand theory and for a long time, the hot hand theory was dubunked and then it go re-debunked. It’s a very real thing, every player that has ever been in the zone like that, in the flow state, knows. Just give me the basketball. It’s not even that you make every shot, it just feels super natural when you’re in that state. And that was super natural what he just did. It was cool to watch.”
Knecht is the biggest addition the Lakers made to the roster this offseason, but he is looking like a big one, and while his shooting is his biggest strength, he also contributed seven rebounds, two steals, and two blocks for a true all-around performance. The rookie is in line to play a big role for these Lakers and could even win a couple of games when he is hot like he was on this night.
Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht discusses having hot hand vs. Suns
Dalton Knecht was in a zone in the Lakers’ preseason win over the Suns. The rookie had struggled to get his shot going for much of the preseason, but he made up for it on this night.
As for what led to his amazing night, Knecht said he was trying to get open looks and praised his teammates for finding him. He added that Anthony Davis and LeBron James said it was his time to take over, so he did just that.
