Dalton Knecht’s outburst in the Los Angeles Lakers’ win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night was the best performance of his young career. The 17th pick in this past draft put up 19 points on a near-perfect 7-of-8 shooting and canned all five of his 3-point attempts.
It’s been a rocky start to Knecht’s career after a flamethrowing preseason. He’s averaging 18.2 minutes per game, adding 7.3 points on a solid 59.1% true shooting. Hopefully, his ramp-up will earn him a more consistent rotation slot. Los Angeles will need him, given the state of its roster.
The 7-4 Lakers haven’t found nearly enough scoring punch from their reserves thus far. Their bench ranks 27th in points per game (24.4) and 25th in threes attempted per game (9.8). In theory, Knecht should help remedy both of those problems.
How Knecht Can Help The Lakers
His triples fell against Memphis, as Knecht recorded his first career game with five made threes. When he takes the floor this season, his jumper is as smooth as advertised. He’s draining 37.9 percent of his triples on high volume (7.8 attempts per 75 possessions).
Against the Grizzlies, Knecht found looks in a variety of areas. He confidently pulled up off of the bounce over defenders. In set plays, he’ll run off of screens to shoot above the break and in the corners. Allowing space to Knecht is a dangerous proposition, especially when he’s hot.
five threes for dalton knecht last night against memphis. such a versatilte on and off ball shooter pic.twitter.com/b5rfky96oH
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) November 14, 2024
To begin his career, his tiny off-dribble shooting sample is incredibly efficient at 6-of-10, according to Synergy. Seven of those attempts have come in the midrange, where he’s 5-of-7. Twice versus Memphis, he countered his 3-point threat with closeout attacks and pick-and-roll jumpers against drop coverage.
great to see dalton knecht’s shots falling otd last night. lakers really need his juice off of the bench pic.twitter.com/rLUDVnQHDk
— ben pfeifer (@bjpf_) November 14, 2024
How The Lakers Can Help Knecht
When Knecht does take the floor, the Lakers should let him increase his off-dribble volume. Since college, he’s been a deadly off-dribble shooter and should continue to thrive at the NBA level based off of what we’ve seen. He’s definitely limited as a defender and slasher to some extent, but he needs to play more.
Outside of Austin Reaves, the Lakers lack consistent creation in their guard room. D’Angelo Russell is as inconsistent as players come in the NBA. Neither Gabe Vincent nor Max Christie have provided any kind of offensive spark.
Benching Knecht until he adjusts to the defensive speed of the NBA makes sense. The Lakers boast the league’s fifth-ranked offense (117.3). Sitting 25th in defensive rating, the other side of the ball has been their primary problem this season. Outside of Anthony Davis, they don’t have consistently impactful defenders.
But Knecht’s offense may be too good to keep on the bench for long. As a 23-year-old rookie, we’d expect him to contribute early in his career. Based on his performance against Memphis, that regular contribution could be coming sooner rather than later.
