The Los Angeles Lakers picked up a big win on Wednesday night over the San Antonio Spurs and rookie Dalton Knecht was a major reason why. Returning to the starting lineup, Knecht scored 10 of his team-high 20 points in the first quarter to go along with eight rebounds and two steals.
Knecht has been outstanding any time he’s been a starter this season, which surely played a role in JJ Redick making the lineup switch. It was a spark the Lakers needed after three consecutive losses as they simply couldn’t afford a fourth and they were able to put their recent struggles behind them and put forth a strong performance.
The Lakers rookie spoke about the team’s mindset going into this game as well. In his postgame interview with Lakers reporter Mike Trudell, Knecht said it was important for them to have short term memory as they have a lot of games this season:
“Just have a short-term memory, going out there. We got a lot of games this season. We have 82 plus more in the playoffs so we know we gotta come out and just forget the past pretty much.”
They were able to do just that from the beginning, building an early lead behind Anthony Davis’ playmaking and Knecht’s shot-making and never faltering when the Spurs made a run. Now the Lakers will need to build off this win as their next game is a huge one, their final Emirates NBA Cup group stage game against the Oklahoma City Thunder:
“It was big to get us that momentum. To go back home and play our last Cup game and go from there.”
That game is a must-win for the Lakers in their quest to defend their Cup Championship from last year. It won’t be easy as the Thunder have the best record in the West and have been outstanding since big man Isaiah Hartenstein returned from injury to support MVP-candidate Shai Gilgious-Alexander.
But as Knecht said, it’s all about the Lakers building momentum and having that short-term memory to enter these games with the complete belief that they can take on any team in the league.
JJ Redick explains reasoning behind moving Dalton Knecht back into starting lineup
As for the reason why head coach JJ Redick chose to move Dalton Knecht back into the starting lineup, it was a matter of the analytics, not to mention the Lakers simply needing a spark.
Redick said the numbers behind Knecht starting were excellent and he is constantly communicating with his analytics staff. The Lakers coach added that this game against the Spurs was one where they needed to find a way to get a win, and Knecht starting definitely contributed to that.
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