Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht’s honest response to the Rising Stars game
The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Dalton Knecht with the 17th overall pick last summer and he is proved to be a key part of this rotation in Year 1, the Tennessee product is averaging 9.4 points on 34% three-point shooting.
Given his numbers, Knecht will likely get an invite to the Rising Star Game on Feb. 14, which showcases the talent of top first- and second-year players, as well as the G-League’s top players.
Knecht was asked about potential participation in Rising Stars and his response was quite comical.
Via Daniel Starkand:
“No, I haven’t really thought about it, but I’m pretty sure I will now.”
I guess Knecht didn’t think much of it until the reporter brought it up. He ranks seventh among rookies in scoring, behind Zach Eddy, Jared McCain, Stephon Castle and Zachary Rizacher, among others. However, Knecht has struggled a lot from deep as of late and has taken some flak from Lakers Nation as a result.
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Knecht has drained just 12 of his last 63 3-pointers for a brutal 19% clip. Some NBA fans claimed that it was “LeBron James effect”, which seems completely unfair. The reality is that Knecht has just hit a rookie wall and opponents are learning how to better defend him. Every first-year player struggles at some point in their rookie campaign. He will get out of it.
As for the Lakers, they are 21-17 and just beat the Miami Heat on Wednesday night. Knecht scored only two points in 13 minutes of action. Coach JJ Reddick has given him drastically fewer minutes during this slump, but once Knecht starts hitting it offensively, Reddick will definitely put him on the court more. It averages 21.5 minutes per night.
Los Angeles returns to action on Friday night against the Brooklyn Nets at Cripto.com Arena.
Quinn Allen is a senior contributing editor with ClutchPoints. He specializes mainly in football, basketball and baseball. When Quinn is not producing content for CP, he writes sports betting predictions for numerous sites across North America.
2025-01-16 23:16:00
