2 weeks Ago By Arhaan Raje
Dalton Knecht made his highly anticipated return to the LA Lakers lineup in Friday's clash against the New Orleans Pelicans. Rui Hachimura sitting out on the second night of a back-to-back opened up playing time for the first-round pick, who has picked up multiple DNPs and seen his minutes reduced to single digits as the Lakers shrunk their rotation ahead of the playoffs. However, the team's offensive struggles had started to pile up, especially their bench production.
Amid these issues, fans desperately demanded coach JJ Redick to play Knecht more, who was in tremendous form before falling out of the rotation. Before Friday's game, Redick mentioned the Lakers still had faith in him and that he would play against New Orleans. Here's how Knecht performed: Explore the NBA Draft 2024 with our free NBA Mock Draft Simulator & be the GM of your favorite NBA team.
Dalton Knecht made a blistering return to the lineup for the Lakers. He entered the game with three minutes left in the first quarter and immediately made an impact with a tip-in layup, followed by two consecutive 3s, scoring eight points in that short span. He earned five minutes of action in the second quarter and made that count, too.
Knecht added four points in that stretch with a fadeaway jumper and a two-handed jam on the break. Knecht scored 12 points and one rebound, shooting 5 of 7, including 2 of 4 from 3 in the opening two quarters, playing 8:30 minutes. He was a +/- +7.
Knecht was the leading scorer for LA, with over two minutes left in the half. Arhaan Raje Arhaan Raje is an Assistant Content Manager and Senior Writer with Sportskeeda's NBA/WNBA team with four years of experience. Arhaan focuses on features, trends, listicles, and the latest rumors and reports circling the league's top teams and players.
He emphasizes detailed research to create impactful content for readers. A fan of Xs and Os, Arhaan provides technical deep dives in his reporting. Arhaan completed his bachelor's degree in BBA in Media and Entertainment Management from Mumbai, India.
Arhaan admires the killer mentality of Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. He respects LeBron James for being a role model on and off the court. The bold and decisive Gregg Popovich stands out as Arhaan's favorite basketball coach.
LeBron's epic chase-down block in the 2016 NBA Finals has a special place in Arhaan's basketball memories. He has interviewed Ronnie 2K, the face of NBA2k and Marketing Director. Sports isn't the only passion he has pursued professionally.
Arhaan is also into performing arts in the music industry as a percussionist. Los Angeles Lakers Fan? Check out the latest Lakers depth chart , schedule , and roster updates all in one place..
