Лос Анжелес Лэйкерсээс чөлөөлөгдсөнийхөө дараа Нью-Йорк Никс багтай хоёр талын гэрээ байгуулсан Далтон Кнехт шинэ багийнхаа бүрэлдэхүүнд анхны тоглолтоо амжилттай хийлээ.
Лхагва гарагт Чикаго Буллс багтай хийсэн тоглолтын хоёрдугаар үеийн төгсгөлд дасгалжуулагч Майк Браун 25 настай довтлогчийг талбайд гаргасан юм. Тоглолтын үеэр 16 минут талбайд гарахдаа 4-6 амжилттай шидэлт гүйцэтгэж, хоёр гурван онооны шидэлт, долоон самбараас бөмбөг авалт, нэг дамжуулалт болон нэг хаалт бүхий 10 оноог авчээ. Тэрээр талбайд гарснаасаа хойш нэг хүрэхгүй минутын дотор довтолгооны самбараас бөмбөг авалт хийж, цагариг дээрээс довтолсон нь үзэгчдийн талархлыг хүлээсэн байна.
Өмнө нь G League-ийн Вестчестер Никс багт тоглож, багийн системд дасан зохицож байсан Кнехт тоглолтын дараа өгсөн ярилцлагадаа дасгалжуулагчдын зүгээс үргэлж бэлэн байхыг сануулдаг тул тоглолтод оролцохдоо огтхон ч гайхаагүй гэдгээ илэрхийлжээ. Тэрээр өөрийгөө довтолгооны болон хамгаалалтын аль алинд нь хувь нэмрээ оруулахыг хүсэж байгаагаа хэлсэн бөгөөд 2024 оны NBA Draft-ын 17 дахь сонголтоор багтаа хэрэгтэй сэлгээний хүч болохоо харуулахыг зорьж байна.
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Wednesday’s game was the perfect chance for head coach Mike Brown to have Dalton Knecht make his Knicks debut.
After being waived by the Los Angeles Lakers, New York signed Knecht to a two-way contract nearly two weeks ago and the 25-year-old had been playing with the Westchester Knicks in the NBA G League to learn the team’s systems and get consistent playing time.
With the Knicks facing the 1-6 Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, the team decided to make Knecht active to possibly get him into the game. So when the small forward checked in for Andre Drummond with 3:20 left in the second quarter and New York up 70-39, he was ready.
“I wasn’t surprised, I just came in ready to go,” Knecht said after the game. “The coaches said you’re active so that just means be ready.”
Knecht got off to a great start less than a minute into his Knicks debut by following a three-point miss by Landry Shamet, grabbing the offensive rebound and slamming it home for a putback dunk that got the MSG crowd buzzing.
“It was great. Honestly I didn’t hear much just because I’m so locked in, but it was good,” Knecht said about his nifty play. “Pretty much my first play was a putback dunk so it’s cool, it’s great.”
Along with his high-flying highlight, Knecht had 10 points on 4-for-6 from the field, including two threes, and grabbed seven boards in just 16 minutes. He also had an assist and a block, looking good and reminding everybody why he was the 17th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
“I think I just go out there and impact the game on all three levels,” Knecht said. “And I just wanna show on the other side of the ball, getting the ball pressure and stuff like that and going in and grabbing defensive rebounds.”
It’s hard to glean too much from Knecht’s performance with it coming in a blowout against the hapless Bulls, but it’s still good to see the talent is there. After all, in his rookie season, Knecht averaged 9.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game before taking a step back last season.
It’s unclear how Brown plans to utilize Knecht this season, but as he gets more comfortable with his new team and teammates, he could be a good option for a team always looking for bench depth.
Regardless, Knecht is staying ready to make the most out of his fresh start.
“Be ready so you don’t have to get ready,” he said. “Just watching on the bench and talking to my teammates is really helpful and it was easy to get in there and play confident. All the guys out there gave me a good look.”
