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The Los Angeles Lakers surged up to third in the Western Conference standings on Saturday night, riding a dominant all-around performance to a 124-108 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. While the star trio of Luka Doncic (35 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists), Austin Reaves (30 points, 7 assists), and LeBron James (27 points, 8 assists) led the way, it was rookie Dalton Knecht who delivered a key spark off the bench.
Knecht, who was a DNP in Friday’s loss to the Golden State Warriors, made the most of his return to the rotation—dropping 10 quick points early in the contest to steady the ship as the Lakers trailed. He would go on to finish with 12 points on 50% shooting, playing a crucial role in helping LA seize control of the game and cruise to victory.
Redick told reporters before the game that Knecht would be reinserted into the rotation. Speaking postgame, the former Tennessee Volunteer shared his mindset after his head coach's decision.
“Mainly just when my name is called, go out there and be me,” Knecht said. “Be ready to shoot and my teammates have my back every single time I step out on the court. They want me to be aggressive and that’s what I kind of do, so shoutout to all my vets.”
The 17th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Knecht has endeared himself to the Lakers fanbase with his fearless play and high energy. He’s averaging 9.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 73 appearances this season, and his popularity hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“It’s real cool that I’m a fan favorite,” he added. “So every time I step out on the court and hear them cheer, I try to go out and put on a show for them. I think that’s what all of us try to do, just go put on a show for the Lakers. They have a great fanbase.”
Knecht's standout moment this season remains his career-high 37-point explosion in a win over the Utah Jazz back in November, but his latest outing proves he’s ready for the big stage again as LA heads toward the playoffs.
With just five games left, the Lakers will look to maintain their momentum and lean on both their stars and emerging contributors like Knecht as they push for their first NBA championship since 2020.
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Luka Doncic Claps Back at Notion Lakers Do Not Want Him at EuroBasket
It can be a delicate dance, when it comes to NBA teams employing international players, because most of those players feel a strong loyalty to their national teams and an obligation to don their jerseys whenever asked. U.S. teams are grateful, of course, for the influx of international players, but most view summer tournaments solely through the lens of injury risks. For Slovenian guard Luka Doncic, that was long the case in Dallas. The Mavericks wanted Doncic happy, of course. They indulged his willingness to suit up for the Slovenians. But they wanted him healthy, and would have preferred he not take part in tournaments over the offseason. The Lakers have not said publicly they want Doncic to not play, now that he is in L.A. and EuroBasket is just days away from tipoff. But around the league, the feeling is that with as much emphasis that the team is putting into conditioning next year, they'd rather Doncic sit out. Luka Doncic Considered Skipping EuroBasket--Briefly But Doncic is playing, and he insists to Slovenian media covering the team that the Lakers gave him no inkling that there might be a problem with his participation. He was asked whether the Lakers give him "free rein," and Doncic replied (via Svet24 and a Google translation): "They support me, they really support me and encourage me to the maximum." Doncic was also asked if he considered taking the summer off, given the intensity of the past year for him in the NBA, which saw him undergo the trade from Dallas and the subsequent emotional aftermath. "There was a thought, but in the end I think we all knew I was going to play," he said. "As I have said many times before, if I can, I will always play so that the decision was not difficult." Doncic and Slovenia will begin their pre-tournament slate with a friendly against Germany on Friday. The team will play its EuroBasket opener Aug. 28 vs. Poland in Katowice, Poland.
Chargers star's brutal injury shows why players should hold out with new contracts on line
Los Angeles Chargers offensive tackle Rashawn Slater was carted off the practice field on Thursday afternoon with what turned out to be a significant injury. According to ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter, the two-time Pro Bowler suffered a season-ending knee injury. It's a massive blow to the team's offensive line and offense as a whole. It also serves as a harsh reminder as to why players will always — and should always — act on the side of caution when it comes to participating in training camp when they are seeking a new contract. In Slater's case, he's a lucky one because he just agreed to a new four-year, $114 million contract extension with $92 million in guarantees days before the injury happened. That contract was signed after he did not participate in some of the team's early training-camp practice sessions. If Slater had participated early on and had this injury happen before he was able to get his new deal signed, it would have been a devastating blow in his quest to get that pay day. Not only would the Chargers have had no incentive to pay him this season, but there is no guarantee he would have ever received that sort of contract in the future. Fans might not like the idea of a hold-out or hold-in, but you have to look at it from the perspective of the player. They have a very limited time to earn top dollar in the NFL, and there are never any guarantees. The hold-out/hold-in approach is not only a way to put pressure on the team to pay them, but it's also a matter of self-preservation. Football is a violent game. It's a physical game. It's a collision game. Injuries are always going to be a part of that. But injuries happen with much greater frequency early in the season, and especially in training camp, due to the fact that players are still working their way back into game shape and going through more intense and physical practices than they do at any point during the season. It's a dangerous time for them in terms of injuries, and that should not be overlooked when it comes to contract talks. Players have short careers and even less time to set themselves up financially. They should not be willing to take unnecessary risks when it comes to their earning power. The Slater situation shows just how delicate all of it is.
Padres already demoting one of their trade-deadline acquisitions
The Padres announced they’ve optioned JP Sears to Triple-A El Paso. They recalled reliever Sean Reynolds and will go with a nine-man bullpen in the short term. Sears will spend at least 15 days in the minors unless he’s brought up to replace a player going on the injured list. San Diego acquired Sears alongside Mason Miller in last week’s massive deadline deal. The 29-year-old southpaw made his team debut Monday night. He allowed five runs in as many innings on 10 hits and a walk against the Diamondbacks. Sears took the loss in a 6-2 defeat. He’d carried a 4.95 earned run average over 22 starts with the A’s. Monday's performance pushed his ERA to 5.12 across 116 innings. It’s a bottom-10 mark among pitchers to log at least 100 frames. Sears had the highest home run rate among that group, offsetting his nearly league-average 20.3% strikeout rate and solid 6% walk percentage. This is the first time in two-and-a-half years that Sears heads to the minors. He broke camp with the A’s in 2023 and has been in the majors since then. Sears has also avoided the injured list for that entire time. As a result, he’s tied for fifth in MLB with 87 starts since the beginning of the ’23 season. The durability is the big selling point, as his production (4.62 ERA/4.56 SIERA) over that stretch is that of a fifth or sixth starter. The demotion shouldn’t have any impact on Sears’ service trajectory. He has already surpassed the three-year mark and will qualify for arbitration next winter. He’s under team control for three seasons beyond this one. While he’ll probably be back up at some point this year, it may require an injury elsewhere in the rotation. San Diego optioned Randy Vásquez over the weekend. They have a four-man rotation of Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish and deadline acquisition Nestor Cortes. Darvish and Cortes will get the ball for the next two outings. San Diego is off Thursday and could turn back to Pivetta and Cease on extra rest for their first two games of the weekend series against the Red Sox. That’d point to the series finale on Aug. 10 as Michael King’s return date. King threw 61 pitches in what is expected to be his final rehab start on Sunday, via the MLB.com injury tracker. He’d be on six days' rest for his first MLB appearance since he went on the injured list in late May with a nerve problem in his throwing shoulder.
Green Bay Packers’ Xavier McKinney Gets Honest After Big Injury News
The Green Bay Packers are gearing up for their preseason opener against the New York Jets. Unfortunately, they are not going to have one of their best defensive players available to play in the game even if they wanted him to. Xavier McKinney has been ruled out for the rest of training camp and all three preseason games due to a calf injury. After signing a big four-year, $67 million contract with the Packers last offseason in NFL free agency, McKinney put together a big first year in the green and gold. He took on a major leadership role and was a dynamic playmaker in the secondary. In order to compete for a Super Bowl, Green Bay will need him healthy. Following the news of his injury, McKinney spoke out about the situation. Green Bay Packers’ Xavier McKinney Gets Honest After Big Injury News As shared by ESPN, McKinney shared his gratefulness for the injury being caught before it got worse. He also offered some comforting words for Packers fans. “Obviously glad that we caught it when we caught it, so just kind of trying to take it slow and then the build-up, obviously,” McKinney said. “But I’ll be ready when it’s time to go, for sure.” During the 2024 season with Green Bay, McKinney played in all 17 regular season games. He racked up 88 total tackles to go along with a sack, a fumble recovery, eight interceptions, and 11 defended passes. Those numbers show just how big of an impact McKinney makes for the defense. Jeff Hafley was spoiled in his debut season as the team’s defensive coordinator by having him patrolling the final layer of his unit. Hopefully, McKinney will be able to recovery quickly and get back to 100 percent by Week 1 against the Detroit Lions. He sounds confident that he’ll be able to do just that.
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