That said, the Hornets forward struggled to finish the season, scoring a combined 17 points with just one 3-pointer in Charlotte’s two Play-In Tournament matchups.
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In an exit interview following Charlotte’s elimination from playoff contention, Knueppel spoke about his struggles finishing the year.
“There’s no excuses; I just didn’t shoot a lot of shots. I shot really well all year; I got to a point in the last two weeks of the season, I just didn’t shoot very well. Sometimes that’s how it happens. Obviously, there are some big games, and you want to be able to shoot well and have your best shots, and I just didn’t have that.”
Despite fatigue during the latter stages of the year, Knueppel still had a monster rookie season. In 81 games he averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 0.7 steals.
Meanwhile, Knueppel shot 42.5% from beyond the arc, trailing the league leader (Luke Kennard) by 5.3% on more than twice as many attempts per game. Knueppel attempted 7.9 three-pointers per game compared to Kennard’s 3.1.
This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: Kon Knueppel Opens Up About Season Finale Difficulties