Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images
Rookie Dalton Knecht was the hero for the Los Angeles Lakers in their preseason win over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday, as he went off down the stretch and helped them earn an overtime win.
Superstar LeBron James, who didn’t play in the contest, took to social media to give some props to the man from the University of Tennessee.
Knecht was taken by the Lakers with the No. 17 pick in this year’s NBA draft. It was a stroke of good fortune for the franchise, as he was expected to go earlier.
In college, he was an outstanding outside shooter, and he also showed an ability to drive to the basket, score from midrange and help out on the boards. He didn’t shoot well from deep in his first few preseason games, but on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors, he got warm late and finished 5-of-13 from 3-point range.
On Thursday, he drained 3-pointer after 3-pointer in the fourth quarter and overtime. Los Angeles was down 90-82 to start the fourth period, but with Knecht’s help, L.A. forced overtime as he hit a triple in the final seconds of regulation.
He ended up with 35 points while going 8-of-13 from beyond the 3-point arc. He also added seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
Over the last few years, the Lakers have had a lack of dynamite 3-point shooters. With new head coach J.J. Redick on board, they will be shooting a significantly higher number of 3-pointers this season, but of course, they have to hit a respectable percentage of those attempts.
Not only is Knecht showing an ability to be one of the outside bombers they need, but third-year guard Max Christie could give them a boost in that same category. In addition, big man Anthony Davis has been putting up more treys during the exhibition season, and on Thursday, he went 4-of-9 from that distance.
Los Angeles will start its regular season on Tuesday of next week against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and a couple games later, it will embark on an early five-game road trip. It will be intriguing to see how much playing time Knecht earns from the get-go and what he does with those reps.
In the meantime, the Lakers have one more preseason game remaining, and it will come against the Warriors.
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