What Dalton Knecht has to show to stay in LA’s rotation

LOS ANGELES – With Los Angeles Lakers‘ recently the offense was shut down, head coach JJ Redick made the decision return Dalton Knecht to the team’s rotation. For a team that has struggled to knock down the 3-point shot at times, Knecht is one of the best shooters on the team.

Part of the decision to insert Dalton Knecht into the Lakers’ rotation stemmed from his performance in the closing minutes of the team’s loss to the Detroit Pistons last week. Although the outcome of the game was already decided, Knecht scored 10 points in the last four minutes. It was among the best he has looked this season.

Knecht officially returned to the rotation during the Lakers’ win against the Grizzlies on Friday. He didn’t score in 11 minutes, but his overall effort wasn’t bad. After the Lakers’ practice on Saturday, Redick talked about Jake LaRavia being the blueprint to follow for tight end play, and Knecht noted that was helpful.

“He (Jake) is always in the right spots,” Knecht said. “He’s always active on defense, uses his hands, just gets up on guys. So it’s good to watch Jake, it helps.”

Knecht got another extended game during the Lakers’ second game against the Grizzlies this weekend, a 116-109 win on Sunday. He knocked down his first shot of the game, a 3-pointer early in the second quarter. But after that he didn’t score, he made what almost was a costly mistake in attack late in the fourth quarter as the Lakers plotted their comeback.

Since returning to the rotation, the results have varied and it is clear that there is more work to do. But for Knecht, he says he knows what he needs to do and what the coaching staff has identified as necessary to earn consistent minutes.

“Just staying locked in on the defensive end, no lapses on the defensive end,” Knecht said. “And just keep being aggressive on offense. They said the four minutes against Detroit was great. Just keep going, and they’ve got confidence in me to come out and be in the rotation.”

This season, Knecht has appeared in 28 games, including one start, with just over 13 minutes per game. He averaged 5.4 points and 1.8 rebounds while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from the 3-point line. Knecht was briefly assigned to the G League with South Bay, the first such assignment of his career.

He was solid, scoring a game-high 30 points while shooting 6-of-10 from the 3-point line. Knecht was never able to recapture the form he showed during the first few months of his rookie year. But what is clear is that Redick and the coaching staff are doing their best to help him get back there. It is up to him to seize the opportunity.