The Los Angeles Lakers have had their ups and downs so far this season, but one positive that has stood out in a big way is rookie Dalton Knecht. The guard has thrived all year long, but especially as a starter as he has averaged 19.7 points on 47.6% shooting from 3-point range in those seven games.
Knecht’s first starts came due to Rui Hachimura being out because of injury, but head coach JJ Redick recently re-inserted the rookie into the starting lineup and he has responded by leading the Lakers with 20 points in each of the last two contests.
There is no doubt that Knecht will play a big role in the success of the Lakers going forward and has the complete trust and belief of his teammates. That includes arguably the greatest player ever in LeBron James, who had a ton of praise following the Lakers’ loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Dalton [Knecht] fits in anything you want to do,” LeBron said.” So he’s going to continue to make his mistakes, which is OK as a rookie. Obviously, his first time experiencing these things for the first time in this league. And then, offensively, he’s going to do what he needs to do. Shoots the ball extremely well. He can attack. Sneaky athletic, but good to have him on the floor, no matter what position he’s playing. He’s a piece for us.”
On a night when the Lakers struggled offensively against the NBA’s best defense, Knecht was one of the few bright spots knocking down six 3-pointers while also adding six rebounds and four assists. As LeBron said, Knecht isn’t just a shooter, but he can also attack the basket, not to mention he is a willing passer who can make the right reads.
Knecht changes the dynamic of the Lakers just by being out on the floor as the threat of his shooting opens up the paint for LeBron and Anthony Davis. There are going to be mistakes as is the case for any rookie, but the Lakers will live with them as they have clearly found a keeper in Dalton Knecht.
Lakers’ Dalton Knecht still figuring out his 3-point celebration
One area where Dalton Knecht is still struggling is with his 3-point celebration, which he will need to figure out as he is making far too many to not have something. Against the Thunder, he again busted out the ‘Jordan Shrug’ but admitted that isn’t the final call as he and teammate Jarred Vanderbilt are still working on things.
“No, no, no. I told Vando, because he said before I hit that, he was like we gotta come up with a celly,” Knecht said when asked if the Michael Jordan shrug will be his celebration. “I did a 3 symbol and then I just did a ‘I don’t know’ and I was looking at him the whole time. I was just like I don’t know what to do. I looked at him and he hit that too.”
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