In mid-November, the Lakers made the decision to start rookie Dalton Knecht with other injuries in hopes of continuing their winning streak by adding shooting skills to the game with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

It was a slam dunk, as Knecht scored 23.8 points on 60% shooting in the following four games and scored 37 points against the Jazz, where he scored 22 points in a row.

In his two games prior to Wednesday night’s game against San Antonio, Knecht had been on the bench due to the return of Rui Hachimura, a puzzling departure from the Lakers given the rookie’s success in the first five games.

In those two games, the former Volunteer failed to recapture the magic of his previous performance, shooting just 5-of-14 overall in the two losses.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles made the right decision to put him back in the starting lineup alongside James and Davis, and it paid off in both a great night for Knecht and a win for the purple and gold.

Knecht scored 20 points on 8-for-15 shooting, hit four 3-pointers and added eight rebounds, two steals and an assist. He finished the win over Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs with a plus-minus of +9.

This time it was D’Angelo Russell who was substituted in favor of Knecht. Be it Russell, Reddish or others, it seems beneficial for the Lakers to continue to provide Knecht with significant minutes alongside James and Davis.

The Lakers’ next game against the Oklahoma City Thunder is Friday, November 29th at 9 p.m.

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