The Los Angeles Lakers clinched the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a win over the Houston Rockets. Now they await their first-round opponent as they will face one of the Warriors, Timberwolves, or the Nuggets, depending on how the final games of the regular season shake out.
With home-court advantage in the first round and not facing the OKC Thunder until the conference finals, the Lakers have an excellent opportunity to make a deep postseason run.
Head coach JJ Redick will likely rest key starters for Sunday's regular-season finale at Portland. This will give the Lakers a full week of rest before their first playoff game.
For a few players, the meaningless Trail Blazers clash could be the last regular season game they play as a Laker.
One of those players is the rookie sharpshooter Dalton Knecht.
Dalton Knecht May Be Playing His Final Regular Season Game with the Lakers on Sunday
Knecht has fallen out of favor in recent weeks, playing over 15 minutes only once in the last 12 games. For the majority of the games in this stretch, Knecht was exclusively used in the garbage time.
This doesn't bode well for the 23-year-old's role in the playoff rotation.
With the addition of Luka Doncic at the trade deadline, Knecht's role has been especially marginalized since the Lakers can't afford to have another defensive liability on the perimeter when Doncic and Austin Reaves are out there. Knecht has been hitting 37.5% of his threes this season. While that is a good mark, it is not so good that Redick can overlook his defensive shortcomings.
Plus, the Lakers already tried to trade him this season. Before the Mark Williams trade was rescinded after the deadline, Knecht was sent to the Charlotte Hornets. He had to awkwardly return to Los Angeles when Williams failed his physical.
While Knecht showed professionalism and maturity in how he handled that situation, it also showed that the Lakers are willing to move on from the 2024 first-round pick for the right player. Considering that the team will be desperately looking to add a starting center in the offseason, Knecht will likely be involved in that deal once again.