How did the Lakers’ rookie perform against the Wizards? (January 21)

Dalton Knecht is in the midst of an up-and-down rookie season and has been struggling of late after showing promise in his first month. He and the LA Lakers faced the weak Washington Wizards on Tuesday night, looking to bounce back after four losses in their last six games.

Knecht didn’t take the court until three minutes into the second quarter, where he quickly grabbed a rebound but missed a 3-point attempt. At the 4:20 mark, his layup attempt was blocked by fellow rookie Alex Sarr and he was removed from the game shortly after.

Knecht only managed two rebounds in the first half, and there were no other notable figures.

Anthony Davis and LeBron James led the way in the first half, contributing 19 and 14 points, respectively, as the Lakers built a 59-49 lead. James also had seven assists and five rebounds, while Davis recorded eight rebounds and two blocks.

Jordan Poole led the Wizards with 12 first-half points.

Dalton Knecht slips out of the NBA Rookie of the Year rankings

Dalton Knecht, who was ranked third in NBA.com’s Rookie of the Year rankings in November, has seen his position steadily decline.

He has fallen behind in each subsequent edition and has been missing from the rankings since December 19th.

Knecht initially secured his third place in the rankings – behind only Jared McCain and Jaylen Wells – after an impressive nine-game stretch in November in which he averaged 18.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 4.0 made-3s. Pointers scored per game.

That run also featured a standout performance in which he scored a career-high 37 points on 12-for-16 shooting.

Since then, however, his production has declined significantly, averaging just 6.7 points per game on 39.4% shooting, including a worrying 19.2% from 3-point range.

In the weeks following his winning streak, Dalton Knecht steadily fell down the rankings – to fourth, then to fifth, sixth, ninth, and finally out of the top 10 entirely.

The most recent Rookie of the Year rankings are now led by Alex Sarr, followed by Yves Missi and Jaylen Wells.