{"id":5677,"date":"2024-11-29T02:46:37","date_gmt":"2024-11-29T02:46:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=5677"},"modified":"2024-11-29T02:46:37","modified_gmt":"2024-11-29T02:46:37","slug":"breaking-lakers-legend-james-worthy-sends-clear-message-on-rookies-fluctuating-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=5677","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Lakers Legend James Worthy Sends Clear Message on Rookie\u2019s Fluctuating Role.."},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\" class=\"wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"h-responsive\">\n<figure class=\"h-responsive__inner\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2176850221-e1729881119410.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2176850221-e1729881119410.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2176850221-e1729881119410.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/GettyImages-2176850221-e1729881119410.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Bronny James, Dalton Knecht, Lakers\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" data-dom-ready-time=\"343\" data-img-load-time=\"368\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span class=\"caption-credit\">Getty<\/span>Los Angeles Lakers rookies Bronny James and Dalton Knecht.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0legend James Worthy put a stamp of approval on JJ Redick\u2019s decision to bring back\u00a0Dalton Knecht\u00a0to the starting lineup.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe plays well with that unit,\u201d\u00a0Worthy said of Knecht\u00a0after the rookie scored a team-high 20 points in the Lakers\u2019 119-101 win over the San Antonio Spurs. \u201cAnd for a young player who has that type of talent, you got to find the right uniform. He could shoot, but not as a great shooter with the second unit, because it\u2019s something about it just doesn\u2019t flow the same. Shots didn\u2019t come as easy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><iframe class=\"ql-video\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gWPqfqAyx28?showinfo=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Knecht\u2019s return immensely helped the Lakers snap a three-game losing skid.<\/p>\n<p>Worthy made it clear Knecht should remain in the starting lineup moving forward.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think that\u2019s a keeper,\u201d Worthy said.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>James Worthy Praises Dalton Knecht\u2019s IQ<\/h2>\n<p>Knecht returned to his high-scoring ways with the starting unit after a pair of single-digit outings off the bench over the Lakers\u2019 last two losses.<\/p>\n<p>Worthy, who won three championships with the Lakers in the 1980s, believes Knecht is better suited playing with the team\u2019s stars\u00a0Anthony Davis\u00a0and\u00a0LeBron James.<\/p>\n<p>Getting easier shots led to more defensive juice for the rookie swingman.\u00a0Aside from leading the team in scoring, Knecht added eight rebounds and two steals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI like the fact that I think his antennas are up right away on both his on the court,\u201d Worthy said of Knecht. \u201cSometimes, when a rookie sits on the bench, he doesn\u2019t come in with the same type of intensity. His intensity starts from the beginning because he\u2019s out there with starters.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe knows he\u2019s under the microscope, but he knows he\u2019s needed. Had a couple of plays where he went back door for some layups and made some nice dimes. He understands the game. So I think playing with that unit, he flows better because his IQ is there. His IQ is at that level where you can play with LeBron and AD and play well.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>JJ Redick on Lineup Shakeup<\/h2>\n<p>Redick seems to agree with Worthy\u2019s sentiment about the Lakers\u2019 rising rookie.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think what Dalton is [he\u2019s] a threat and a weapon, and that changes the dynamic of our offense,\u201d\u00a0Redick told reporters when asked to compare him to Cam Reddish, whom he replaced in the starting unit.<\/p>\n<p>Though Redick also said their game plan to switch everything against the\u00a0San Antonio Spurs\u00a0also factored into his decision in putting Knecht back into the starting lineup.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think you sometimes just got to look at numbers, and we are in constant communication with our analytics group,\u201d\u00a0Redick told reporters. \u201cBut we recognize that you probably need about 250 minutes to really gain stuff and look at something in terms of lineup data.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd we\u2019re not there yet with some of these lineups, but we felt like the [Knecht] stuff was great, and tonight was trying to figure out a way to get a win. Knowing that we were going to be redding (switching) one through five as the game plan, it just felt like a game that we could get him in there.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Will Redick switch lineups again based on matchups, or will he follow Worthy\u2019s advice?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GettyLos Angeles Lakers rookies Bronny James and Dalton Knecht. Los Angeles Lakers\u00a0legend James Worthy put a stamp of approval on JJ Redick\u2019s decision to bring back\u00a0Dalton Knecht\u00a0to&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Lakers Legend James Worthy Sends Clear Message on Rookie\u2019s Fluctuating Role.. - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=5677\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Lakers Legend James Worthy Sends Clear Message on Rookie\u2019s Fluctuating Role.. - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"GettyLos Angeles Lakers rookies Bronny James and Dalton Knecht. 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