When the Los Angeles Lakers had been lucky sufficient to take College of Tennessee wing Dalton Knecht with the No. 17 decide in June’s draft, they knew they had been getting a sharpshooter who had lots of potential to develop into a taking pictures guard. elite NBA-caliber 3-pointer.
He is develop into precisely that in his previous few video games, however he is proven off different abilities, similar to the flexibility to assault off the dribble, transfer with out the basketball, get out in transition, and end sturdy on the rim .
The massive concern about Knecht popping out of school was his protection, which regarded lackluster. However Lakers head coach JJ Redick believes the 23-year-old has improved on the finish of the courtroom of late.
By way of Lakers Nation:
“I feel he is enhancing his physicality, each with and with out the ball, I’ve seen some enchancment,” Redick mentioned. “I do not know the way Rick [Barnes] teaches protection when it comes to covers and schemes, no matter covers and schemes he put up in opposition to me did not work… 41 (factors). Simply kidding, I like Rick. I’ve identified Rick for a very long time.
“However I feel the largest a part of the training curve for a rookie is with the ability to make a number of choices in a brief time frame throughout one possession after which return and do it once more on one other possession . It is laborious. It is laborious to grasp sample recognition, it is laborious to do.
“However he is getting higher there and I shared with you that at one level in August or September I actually challenged him to not be a site visitors cone and he rose to that problem. He is attempting, the hassle is there. There are issues we are able to do within the weight room, there are issues we are able to do when it comes to agility. he is an excellent defender. He has the scale, he has the energy. energy. He positively has the toughness, competitiveness and size to get there.
When Knecht was on the courtroom for Los Angeles to date this season, the staff had a defensive score of 115.5, and with out him, its defensive score is 117.2. This at the very least suggests he had a barely constructive impression defensively.
He nonetheless struggles, at the very least typically, to remain in entrance of his man and stabilize him defensively. However he is early in his rookie season, and most rookies battle loads on protection. Extra reps and extra expertise definitely will not harm his means to comprise the lads he is tasked with guarding.
This text was initially revealed on LeBron Wire: JJ Redick believes Dalton Knecht has improved on the defensive finish
