“Unbelievable. He can shoot the peel off the ball.”
That’s how Devin Booker — one of the best shooters in the game today — described Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht after he went off for seven straight points in the final 1:23 of Thursday night’s preseason game against the Suns, forcing overtime, then scoring the next 13 in the extra frame — making it 20 straight overall — to get Los Angeles the win. Knecht finished with 35 points and eight made 3s.
While this outing should get a preseason discount, the fact Knecht did it — and has averaged 18 points a game shooting 36% from 3 in the preseason — should earn him a spot in the Lakers rotation to start the season.
The Lakers drafted Knecht No. 17 out of Tennessee because he was arguably the best shooter in the draft and Los Angeles was going to need more shooting in J.J. Redick’s system, where he wants them to get up more 3s. Throughout the preseason, Redick has said Knecht is already in the league’s top 1% of shooters.
We’ll see where Knecht fits in the Lakers rotation starting next Tuesday night, when they open the season against the Minnesota Timberwolves (a team with its own interesting rotation questions this season).
