Los Angeles Lakers rookie and sharpshooter Dalton Knecht recently revealed his team’s game plan on having “revenge” towards the Memphis Grizzlies, who initially beat them earlier this season. The rookie also expressed his emotion towards the “disrespect” of Grizzlies point guard Ja Morant towards his teammate LeBron James.
Earlier this month, the Memphis Grizzlies faced the Lakers for the first time this season, and they wiped the floor with them. Dalton Knecht, for one, did not manage to have his best game as he also suffered an elbow to the jaw from Jake LaRavia. With these things considered, the Lakers had their revenge plan in place.
“Go for the throat,” Knecht said in an interview with ESPN. “They tried to embarrass us on their home court.”
Aside from being beaten and suffering a personal injury, Knecht highlighted how point guard Ja Morant showed disrespect towards his teammate LeBron James, as Morant was “saying he was pretty much the new king around here when Bron’s still in the league.”
Knecht added: “They were real disrespectful. “We had that game ready on our minds.”
True to their plan, the Lakers did beat the Grizzlies on their second meet, with a final score of 128-123
JJ Redick on Dalton Knecht as a starter: “They All Trust Him”
As Lakers head coach JJ Redick continues to experiment on how to improve the team’s overall play style and synergy, he recently added Dalton Knecht to the Lakers starter lineup. The rookie joined joined Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis in the lineup.
The lineup proved to be an effective mix, as they wiped out the San Antonio Spurs in their recent game, with a final score of 119-101.
In an interview, Redick discussed how Knecht worked seamlessly with the team’s starter lineup, and how the ball always “finds” him, and his teammates all trust him to make a good play.
“A coach would say if you were to take an NBA team and go play a pickup game, and not call plays, the ball is just gonna naturally find the best offensive players,” he said. “When [Knecht] plays with that group, we don’t necessarily have to run a lot of plays for him. The ball is going to find him. You know, A.D. and Bron and AR, they all trust him.”
Dalton Knecht so far has played 20 games this season, and currently averages 11.9 points per game, 3.5 rebounds, and shoots 42.9% from the three-point line.
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