After a fairly impressive preseason, Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht set himself up to be in the rotation from the get-go. Seeing how a lottery talent fell to L.A. at 17th spot in the NBA Draft, the 23-year-old was ready to contribute right away.
Head coach JJ Redick acknowledged he was going with a nine-man rotation and with injuries to Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood, Knecht elevated a few spots. Through this early part of the season, the former Tennessee Volunteer has already had moments of scoring outbursts, recently on Saturday against the New Orleans Pelicans.
The rookie got the start with Rui Hachimura and Cam Reddish ruled out and he took advantage of the opportunity.