After Tuesday’s blowout loss to the Suns, their second straight 20-plus point defeat, JJ Redick is making another change to the Lakers starting lineup.
He’s moving Cam Reddish back to the bench and replacing him with Dalton Knecht.
Given their lingering injuries, Knecht and Reddish were both questionable to play, but they were cleared for action before the starting lineups were officially announced.
This move makes sense since this team is struggling offensively and defensively. While Reddish is undeniably a better defender, but has been giving the Lakers next to nothing on the offensive side of the ball.
Meanwhile, in the games Knecht has started, he has averaged 19.6 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 50% from 3-point range on eight attempts per game.
Those are some impressive stats for a rookie. Given that the team is in a slump and on the second night of a back-to-back, it’s worth trying this out and seeing how effective it is.
Longtime NBA journalist Zach Lowe made this exact suggestion on Wednesday morning via Twitter, stating that Knecht’s offense was a much bigger upgrade than what the Lakers get due to Reddish’s defense.
With Knecht starting, the Lakers will be leaning towards being an offensive-minded team, which does appear to be their main identity given that the only players who consistently play good defense are Anthony Davis and Reddish.
Despite the move to the bench, Lakers fans should expect Reddish to stay in the rotation. He has been a good defender and the other fringe rotation players, such as Max Christie and Gabe Vincent, have certainly not done enough to demote Reddish from starting to not playing at all.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
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