The more you fight, the better you get! Now Knecht, next Duarte?

Knecht's performance is a bit worrying.

In the fifth game of the preseason, the Lakers lost to the Mavericks 94-121 away from home.

In this game, Knecht started and played the most 35 minutes on the team. However, his performance was very poor: 3 of 12 shots, 1 of 9 three-pointers, 1 of 2 free throws, only 8 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, with a plus-minus value as low as -25.

In the first three quarters of this game, the Lakers actually fought back and forth with the Mavericks. At the end of the three quarters, the Lakers led 86-84 by 2 points. However, in the fourth quarter, the Mavericks beat the Lakers 37-8 in a single quarter, which directly stunned the Lakers.

In this crucial last quarter, it was Knecht who led the Lakers on the field. He played a full 12 minutes in a single quarter. However, he made 2 of 6 shots and 0 of 3 three-pointers. He only scored 4 points and 0 assists. It seemed that he accounted for half of the team's points. The actual plus-minus value in the single quarter was -29, which was quite explosive.

What needs to be said is that this is not the first time that Knecht has played so poorly in this preseason. In his previous preseason debut, his performance was even worse - against the Suns, he shot 2 of 10 from the field, 1 of 7 three-pointers, and only scored 6 points, 6 rebounds and 0 assists.

In the second game against the Warriors, Knecht scored 12 points, scoring in double figures. However, he played a full 34 minutes and only made 3 of 11 shots and 2 of 7 three-pointers. His performance was also very unsatisfactory.

In the last game against the Suns, Knecht played 19 minutes as a substitute, shooting 2 of 4 and scoring 5 points. His presence was mediocre, with a plus-minus value of -11.

The best game was against the Warriors in the third game. He made 4 of 9 from the field, 2 of 5 three-pointers, and 6 of 8 free throws. He scored 16 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists. The Lakers also defeated the Warriors 126-116 - this is the Lakers' only win so far in the preseason this year.

After five preseason games, Knecht's performance: 5 games, averaging 29.5 minutes per game, 9.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists, shooting 30.4% from the field, 7 of 31 three-pointers, a low shooting percentage of 22.6%, and a true shooting percentage of only 43.9%.

To be honest, Redick has actually given Knecht a chance. His average playing time per game ranks first on the team, and he is much ahead of second-placed Laravia (25.3 minutes).

It needs to be said that Knecter's current state has been going on for a while. Previously, in the summer league in July, his performance was also a mess: in 5 games, he averaged 12.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game, shooting 33.3% from the field and 25.0% from the three-point range (8 of 32).

In the last game against the Clippers, Knecht played even worse: he started 29 minutes, made 3 of 15 shots, 1 of 8 three-pointers, scored 8 points, 7 rebounds and 2 assists, with a plus-minus value of -13.

For comparison, in the summer league last year, Knecht, who was still a rookie at the time, averaged 18.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, and his three-point shooting percentage was 34.2%.

For comparison, Knecht's performance in last year's preseason: averaged 18.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, shooting 43.7% from the field and 36.0% from the three-point range.

Lakers fans will definitely not forget that in last year's preseason game against the Suns, Knect made 10 of 18 in the field, 8 of 13 three-pointers, and scored 35 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. After five preseason games this year, he made a total of 7 of 31 three-pointers.

After that game, Knecht did not have to play in the last preseason game and locked in the regular season rotation.

At the beginning of the regular season, his performance was worthy of Redick's trust. He scored 18 points in the 5th game of his career, 27 points in the 13th game, and 37 points + 9 three-pointers in the 14th game. After playing the first 31 games, he averaged 10.2 points per game and shot 36.7% from three-point range, which is quite good for a rookie.

The turning point occurred in the trade in February. Knecht was sent to the Hornets by the Lakers for Ma Wei. As a result, Ma Wei failed the physical examination and the transaction failed.

Objectively speaking, before being traded, Knecht had a tendency to hit a wall, and his three-point shooting percentage once dropped to 33.8%. On the contrary, after returning to the Lakers, although his playing time decreased, his three-point shooting percentage increased to 40.8%.

Although he was abandoned in the playoffs, after his rookie season, Knecter's overall performance was actually good, and he was definitely worthy of his status as the 17th pick in the first round.

Part of the reason why this year's summer league and preseason are so sluggish may be mentality, because the rumors about him have not stopped throughout the offseason. Any signings involving the Lakers, Knect will definitely be a trading chip.

Another part of the reason is strength. Knecter himself is not a very stable shooter, and his defense is not good enough. After his rookie season, his playing style was studied by opponents, and it is understandable that he will decline.

Personally, I feel that the next period of time (at the beginning of the regular season) will be very critical for Knecht. If his performance still fails to improve during this period, then in the worst case scenario, he may fall out of the rotation.

At this point, I suddenly thought of an older rookie who is somewhat similar to Knecter—Duarte, the 13th pick in the first round of the 2021 class.

As an older rookie and a guard with the 13th overall pick, Duarte performed very well in his rookie season, averaging 13.1 points per game and shooting 36.9% from three-point range. However, starting from his sophomore season, his performance continued to decline. His scores were: 7.9 points, 3.9 points, and 2.1 points..

Duarte played for the Bulls last season, but he was already a marginal substitute. In the LaVine trade in February, the Bulls waived Duarte in order to make room for him. So far, he has not been signed by any team, and he is faced with the situation of having no ball to play in the new season.

How to put it this way, older rookies have this risk. If Knecht cannot make a breakthrough and end the bad state of the past few months, then he may become the next Duarte. I hope Knecht can find his touch soon, at least adjust to the state he had at the beginning of last year.