OKC Thunder Backcourt Stacks up Well Against Lakers

Oklahoma City has an athletic two-way backcourt, and they'll be facing an offensive-minded Lakers backcourt on Friday night.

Nov 27, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort (5) takes a three-point shot as Golden State Warriors forward Andrew Wiggins (22) defends during the first half at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-Imagn Images / John Hefti-Imagn Images

The 11-7 Los Angeles Lakers have found a rookie that creates a great impact in the starting lineup this season, pairing with Austin Reaves in the backcourt to form a very big core five.

Dalton Knecht, at 6-foot-6 from Tennessee, has been putting on a clinic in his season debut in the NBA, crafting a Rookie of the Year campaign thus far. Beside Austin Reaves, the 26-year old from Oklahoma, these two are nearly clearing 30 points a night as an offensive duo to compliment the likes of Anthony Davis and LeBron James---though, against the Thunder on Friday night, the Lakers backcourt may have its hands full.

This'll be the first meeting of the two teams on the season, as it'll be a top-five Western Conference matchup with the first-seeded Thunder on the road versus the fifth-seeded Lakers.

But Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort will match up very well versus Knecht and Reaves in their own respective position battles. Reaves, an offensive-centric point guard in his role, and Knecht, an offensive-centric shooting guard in his own, won't provide much defensive cushion along the perimeter certainly toward Gilgeous-Alexander, but Dort will also get his own on the occasional kickout three he can knock down at a solid clip.

The two-way range from Oklahoma City's backcourt is special, and it likely won't be reciprocated by the rookie Knecht and Reaves at this point---and that's been reflected some in Los Angeles' stats on the season, falling into the bottom-five in defensive rating across the league.

The Thunder, recently introducing Isaiah Hartenstein from injury, will definitely have its hands full itself in the frontcourt battle, but the team should rely on its ability to break down the inexperience and lack of depth in the Lakers backcourt on Friday night.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Thunder on SI on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest Thunder news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.