We’re in the preseason and we have to take everything that happens with a grain of salt, but one rookie gives the Lakers the most reason to be excited. And we never talk about Bronny. Dalton Knecht, who was selected in the 17th position in the last draft, became the number of the night, putting together a real performance against the Phoenix Suns, against whom he showed the qualities of scoring that brought Angelenos to bet on him.
Knecht finished the game with 35 points, of which 25 came in the last quarter or in overtime, where he was the clear and almost lone protagonist of the game. When everyone present seemed determined to give the victory to Phoenix and rest, he was the only one who insisted on changing the fate of a game where the result may not count but what is important is what was seen on the track. And what we’ve seen on the field points to Dalton as a player who demands opportunities.
Although his performance so far was good in general terms, we can consider that the real performance started with 1:23 left in the game, when Knecht converted a free throw to make it 111-107. And what seemed like a simple point soon became the beginning of something more serious. After the Suns scored and went up by 6, the recruit He claimed the honors and closed the gap with a 3-pointer, and after a good defense that put the Lakers down 3 with one possession left, he didn’t hesitate. He doesn’t need complicated games, blocks or anything like that. He just took the ball, opened up some distance with a dribble, rose from more than 8 meters above the boundless arms of Bol Bol and scored a triple that sent the game to overtime.
And he has more to say.
20 points in a row
Because when he seemed to sign the heroes of the night, Knecht decided that the ball would stay in his hands and that he would take it to the basket as many times as he wanted. Of the 7 goals scored in the final seconds of regulation time, another 13 were added soon after, the Lakers’ first 13 in overtime, to close the quarter in which he scored 20 consecutive points for his team. and won the match almost single-handedly. It was raining triple, both inside catch a gun like after the rebound, and there’s no way the Suns can stop the explosion of a rookie who’s made it clear he’s not aiming downfield at all.
The Lakers eventually won 122-128, and Dalton ended up overshadowing the incredible night of Anthony Davis who also scored 35 points but, sitting out the last minutes of the fourth quarter, the party began. LeBron James, from the bench because he did not play, did not hide his interest in the performance of his new teammate. Now it remains to be seen whether he can evoke the same sensations when they share the field once the regular season begins.