The Los Angeles Lakers must learn to toe the thin line between scorers and shooters if they hope to help Dalton Knecht excel. It's an admittedly tricky distinction to make, particularly with a player who has proven capable of erupting with volume and efficiency from beyond the arc.
Knecht is a scorer being cast as a shooter, however, and the lack of volume is thus costing him his ability to sustaining the form he's capable of.
A shooter is often expected to be in rhythm, utilizing even the fewest number of touches and dribbles to get into a groove and knock down open shots. It's a role that Lakers head coach JJ Redick filled when he was playing before securing a more well-rounded scoring role more than a decade into his career.
Rather than making Knecht [wait for a similar opportunity](https://lakeshowlife.com/dalton-knecht-gifted-golden-opportunity-he-absolutely-must-nail), the Lakers need to empower the up-and-comer with consistent touches and shots.
A scorer is typically different from a shooter in the sense that they need more time, touches, and volume to find their footing. Expecting them to turn four-to-six shot attempts into something meaningful simply isn't a realistic expectation given how they're accustomed to playing and how their mentality is inevitably different from a true spot-up player.
Rather than attempting to fit a square peg into a round hole, the Lakers should lean into Knecht's strengths and allow his game to expand from there instead of limiting him and expecting results.
Dalton Knecht needs to be treated like a scorer, not a pure shooter
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Knecht attempted five or fewer shots in 36 games as a rookie, shooting 40.0 percent or worse from the field in 58.3 percent of those outings. By comparison, he shot worse than 40.0 percent in just 31.0 percent of the 42 games during which he attempted more than five field goals.
That only scratches the surface of the issue with limiting Knecht's touches and expecting efficiency, but it's a shining example of how important volume is—particularly to an inexperienced scorer.
Knecht shot 32.3 percent from beyond the arc when he played fewer than 20 minutes in 2024-25 and 40.0 percent when he exceeded 20. Knecht also averaged 16.7 points on .461/.395/.667 shooting in 16 starts compared to 7.1 points on .465/.366/.800 shooting as a reserve.
Furthermore, Knecht exceeded 20 points in six of the 12 games during which he played at least 30 minutes, including 37 and 32-point eruptions.
Lakers need to provide Dalton Knecht with volume to get in rhythm
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Knecht's defensive inconsistency is unavoidable, particularly on a team with three stars who leave something to be desired in that respect. That's ultimately resulted in the 25-year-old becoming a victim of circumstance as Redick simply can't justify playing four players who offer little on defense.
That's the unfortunate truth of why Knecht has struggled to secure consistent playing time, but there needs to be a middle ground between the current approach and an ideal resolution.
The preseason has offered intriguing results, as Knecht rebounded from a tough start to shoot 6-of-13 from the field and 3-of-8 from beyond the arc over his past two appearances. For [a Lakers second unit](https://lakeshowlife.com/lakers-starting-lineup-wont-have-clarity-heading-into-opening-night-vanderbilt) that's gone all-in on defense and lacks shot creation and shooting, the time is now to continue to empower Knecht to lead the effort to generate offense from the bench.
Knecht has issues that he needs to resolve on his own, particularly on defense, but the Lakers need to treat him more like a scorer and less like a shooter in regard to volume and consistency.