Fresh off helping lead the Charlotte Hornets to a statement win over the Toronto Raptors, Kon Knueppel was asked on Saturday about his recent two-game slump. The rookie standout then offered an answer that gives substance to many fans' gushing about his confidence and mentality.
"That's sometimes how it goes," he said of his possible up-and-down shooting from 3-point land. "It's always gonna regress to the mean or go back to around 40 [percent]. I hope it's a little bit higher than that this season. Just keeping the right shots. The past two games, I was getting the right shots. They just weren't going in. So, I'm gonna keep shooting them."
It was a timely reminder from Knueppel. There had been growing concerns about whether he was about to hit a rookie wall when he shot a combined 2-16 from beyond the arc in his previous two games before Saturday. But he noted that in the two contests before the mini-slump, he went 13-20 from long range.
Hearing such a coolheaded response from Knueppel should be music to Hornets fans' ears. The last thing the team would want is for its prized rookie to hesitate to let it fly from downtown when that has been a key reason why a lot of people are high on his future and why there is plenty of optimism surrounding the franchise's long-term outlook.
Hornets need Kon Knueppel to remain assertive
Imagine if the Duke University product allowed his previous struggles to get into his head. He probably would not have made a huge impact in Charlotte's comeback win over the Raptors. He ended up snapping out of his funk, hitting 4-7 from 3-point land (5-10 from the field overall) to put up 20 points.
Each of those points mattered, as LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller combined for just 21 points on a 7-29 shooting clip. Miles Bridges carried the offensive load, supplying the Hornets with 35 points. However, Knueppel also deserves credit for bringing a shooter's mentality to the Spectrum Center on Saturday.
None of his makes was arguably more important than his 3-pointer near the end of regulation that sent the game to overtime. In his postgame interview, Knueppel admitted that it was the play drawn up by Charles Lee, who may have finally realized that the Hornets have found a new weapon they can turn to in the clutch.
Fortunately, Sion James found Knueppel cutting to the corner, and all the sharpshooter had to do was unleash his trademark fake moves to freeze up Brandon Ingram and take the shot with little resistance from the defense.
Of course, the Rookie of the Year frontrunner won't always sink those shots, and he is bound to have many more off nights. However, the fact that he won't let those rough outcomes or outings affect his confidence already bodes well for his potential to be a star.