Lakers' Dalton Knecht gets support from JJ Redick, D'Angelo Russell amid shooting slump
11/12/2024 05:40 PM
While LeBron James continues to defy father time with his excellent play, the Los Angeles Lakers have had to deal with some injuries and lineup changes as of late, falling back down to earth after their hot start and currently sitting at 6-4. After a standout preseason performance, Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht has struggled with his shot thus far in the regular season, averaging just 6 points per game on under 40 percent shooting from the field and under 30 percent from beyond the three point line, which is considered his specialty.
Still, both head coach JJ Redick and point guard D’Angelo Russell seem to have all the confidence in the world that the former Tennessee Volunteers star will be able to figure things out sooner rather than later, per Matt Peralta of Lakers Nation.
“To me, he's gotten some really good looks both organically and when we've run sets for him. I am undeterred in my thinking that he is a tier one, top one percent shooter,” said Redick. “I see it almost every day. Sometimes you go through stuff and because I played 15 years, it's always hard for me early in the season if I initially didn't get off to a good start shooting 3s. It became more than it was and I just started focusing on the long term and just believing that the law of averages would work out, there would be regression to the mean and I'd end up being a 40% 3-point shooter.”
Russell echoed a similar sentiment.
"Every young player in the league wants it right away," Russell said. "The Basketball Gods have a funny way of disguising those blessings. So for him, just know that your time is coming and just be ready. I think he'll be ready when his time comes."
Can the Lakers compete this season?
The Lakers have already shown tangible improvement in terms of their offensive schematics over last year, when Darvin Ham was their head coach. However, in 2023-24, Los Angeles had the good fortune of some remarkable injury luck, particularly regarding LeBron James and Anthony Davis, which may not be a safe bet to occur two years in a row.
While Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell are nice complementary pieces, it’s unclear whether the Lakers have enough firepower around their star duo to truly compete in an increasingly stacked Western Conference.
The Lakers are next set to take the floor on Wednesday evening at home vs the Memphis Grizzlies.
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