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Laker Dalton Knecht celebrates after dunking during a win over the the Utah Jazz at Crypto.com Arena Tuesday. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Almost 11 months ago to the date, Dalton Knecht was in his worst slump of the season. The jump from the Big Sky Conference to the SEC had been going great, the points were pouring in, a faucet that couldn’t be stopped.
And then — trouble.
He went 2-for-7 against Georgia State, 1-for-7 against NC State and 2-for-7 again, this time against Tarleton State. Before he was the SEC’s Player of the Year, before he was the Lakers’ pick at No. 17 and before he was looking like the shooting answer the Lakers have never quite been able to put around LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Knecht was just a fifth-year senior in one hell of a slump.
“DK, what’s good my man? Just wanted to reach out and say what’s up?” Austin Reaves direct messaged Knecht on Dec. 23. “… Make sure we stay tapped in man. I’ll be watching, and if you ever need anything let me know. I’m around.”
Read more: Red-hot Dalton Knecht scores 37 points as Lakers win sixth in a row
Tuesday night, after Knecht scored 37 points — the most of his young NBA career — the Lakers rookie again mentioned that message from Reaves as being important to him. It’s the kind of thing you think about after a big night when you’re looking more and more comfortable in the NBA.
“Austin, like I’ve said before multiple times, he texted me throughout my time at Tennessee. So having him there, I ask him any questions. He’s always there to help me out,” Knecht said. “Me and him shoot after practice ends every single day. And you have a guy like that that’s been in the league and does stuff like this, like what I did [tonight], when I have a guy like that that stays confident in me, always wants me to shoot the ball, it’s always good.”
Fourteen games into the year, these kinds of nights are starting to stack up for Knecht, who somehow was available to the Lakers at No. 17 draft pick..
Tuesday’s show was the best yet, with Knecht even doing the same shrugged shoulder celebration after his barrage of threes…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/did-anybody-watch-him-hot-144158271.html
Author : LA Times
Publish date : 2024-11-20 14:41:00
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