With so many injuries throughout the roster, the Los Angeles Lakers had just 10 players in uniform for their game against the Portland Trail Blazers on the second night of a back-to-back. Three of those were two-way players leaving second-year guard Dalton Knecht as the only player off the Lakers’ bench who has gotten regular rotation minutes in the past.
Knecht has often shined when put into a larger role and he undoubtedly had his best game of the young season with 16 points off the bench, all coming in the second half. It wasn’t enough to help the Lakers get a victory as they fell to the Trail Blazers, but after the game Knecht said he felt good and is thankful for his teammates and coaches always having belief in him.
“I feel good. All my shots are right they’re just not falling,” Knecht said. “I’m a confident shooter and gonna keep shooting no matter what and all the guys got belief in me to go out there and keep shooting. So I gotta shout out my teammates for all that and the coaching staff.”
Knecht has never been shy and is always willing to put up shots when he feels he is open, which is a great quality to have. Though he did shoot just 2-of-8 from 3-point range, many of those shots were good looks. The Lakers guard also felt that making plays on the defensive end helped him get in more of a rhythm.
“For sure. Kind of got into a rhythm with that sequence and like I said, just being out there confident,” Knecht added. “That was our stint where we were getting stops and beating them up as well, so something just to build off of.”
There is no doubt Knecht can score at this level, but it’s the other parts of his game, particularly his defense, that must improve in order for him to be a regular contributor. So having two steals and a block against the Blazers was a good sign. Unfortunately, the Lakers didn’t have enough firepower to get the win, but Knecht wasn’t willing to use the Lakers injuries as an excuse.
“A little bit but also at the same time, we just gotta play Laker basketball at the end of the day,” Knecht responded when asked if things would’ve been different. “We did against Sacramento and we played great, but just fell short today. We’ll bounce back.”
It is good to see the Lakers embracing this mindset of no excuses regardless of who is suiting up as their opponents won’t have any mercy when they take the floor against them.
Lakers’ guard Gabe Vincent to miss 2-to-4 weeks with ankle sprain
Because of these injuries, Dalton Knecht could find himself remaining in the Lakers’ rotation going forward. The latest of these concerns veteran guard Gabe Vincent, who will be out at least a couple of weeks due to a sprained ankle.
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