Thursday night, the Los Angeles Lakers picked up their first win of the preseason which also marked the first head coaching win for JJ Redick. Undrafted guard Quincy Olivari led the way in that fourth quarter comeback, but first-round pick Dalton Knecht also had another strong showing as he looks to crack Redick’s rotation once the regular season starts.
Knecht finished the game with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the Lakers’ 107-102 victory in Milwaukee and has looked every bit like a player ready to contribute immediately. That would do wonders as the Lakers try to push themselves back into championship contention in Redick’s first year as a head coach and Knecht is confident in this team’s ability to do just that.
Following Redick’s first coaching win, Knecht noted that the team made sure to secure the game ball for him, while also adding that they plan to be around in June to get him some more wins, as seen on Spectrum SportsNet:
“We got that game ball for him. The first one’s cool, but he knows that he’s got a whole bunch of them and we’ll be there June 5th and we’ll get some more.”
The fact that the Lakers made sure to secure and present the game ball to Redick shows the respect and love they have for the new coach. Even though it is the preseason, this is still a special moment and the Lakers treated it as such.
But this comment also gives an insight to the mindset of Knecht, who may be a rookie, but doesn’t have the slightest bit of fear and is full of confidence. Most prognosticators have the Lakers slotted in that Play-In range where they have found themselves the last couple of years, but Knecht is envisioning something much greater.
That level of confidence and belief in himself and the Lakers is what is needed because if the people inside the locker room don’t feel it is possible, there is no chance of it happening. Knecht believes in this team and Redick undoubtedly does as well.
Gabe Vincent gave game ball to JJ Redick following Lakers win
The Lakers wanted to make sure to celebrate JJ Redick getting his first victory as a head coach give him the game ball for his victory. And it was veteran guard Gabe Vincent who secured the ball and presented it to the coach.
Vincent noted that Redick tried to downplay the victory as just being a preseason win, but the Lakers as a whole were adamant about acknowledging the win regardless.
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