Boy, oh boy could the Los Angeles Lakers use Christian Wood in their lineup. The Lakers (4-2) have started off the 2024-25 NBA season on the right foot. Los Angeles experienced a couple of ups and downs through the early portion of their 82-game slate, but overall, they are thriving behind the MVP-worthy play of Anthony Davis and strong supplementary support from LeBron James and Austin Reaves.
Yet, if what their bench has left to be desired thus far could be characterized, it would be characterized as a streetcar.
Lakers rank dead last in the NBA bench scoring without Christian Wood
L.A.’s second-unit contributors are all out to pitch in as best as they can behind their star-studded starting lineup. However, that has not translated into their productivity. The Lakers are dead last in bench points per game among all teams, scoring a lackluster 20.3 PPG.
The 3.3-point margin between them and the No. 29 overall New York Knicks bench (23.6 PPG) is the biggest drop-off margin between two teams among all of the ball clubs outside of the top three in said department. Their second unit is also converting a paltry 26.4 percent of their 8.8 three-point attempts per game.
If that wasn’t enough, the franchise which prides itself on its interior play, is getting a league-worst 9.3 rebounds per game from their second unit. That’s with Jaxson Hayes playing well too. Oh, what one player can do for a team.
Wood was a perennial 6MOTY candidate and fringe-All-Star performer prior to injury
Prior to last season, which saw Wood limited to 6.9 PPG and 5.1 RPG in 17.4 minutes of action across 50 games, exacerbated by injury, the California native was rampaging through the league, establishing himself as a serious scoring threat with All-Star potential. Wood averaged 21 PPG and 17.9 PPG respectively from 2020-21 to 2021-22 as a starter with the Houston Rockets and kept up his offensive ways once he became the Dallas Mavericks’ sixth man in a reduced role, boasting 16.6 PPG in a mere 25.9 MPG in 2022-23.
The UNLV product brought down 8.9 rebounds a night over that span. Thus, it’s reasonable to expect him to still have such capabilities flowing through his veins. Wood is currently sidelined with a left knee injury, and the Lakers have felt his absence greatly as a result. There’s no debate that, should he return from his ailment at full strength, he’ll revitalize Los Angeles’ bench scoring exponentially.
Wood can help fill the Lakers’ void at center upon his return
Seeing that Davis desires to play power forward more than center, Wood will be in line to be the first man off of Lakers head coach JJ Redick’s bench and run alongside Davis at the five, or with the second unit at the four next to Hayes. Wood’s 37.4 percent clip from three-point range dating back to the 2019-20 campaign makes him a lethal inside-out threat. He can also put the ball on the floor, post-up, and catch-and-shoot with proficiency.
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Wood was given an eight-week timetable for recovery after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee on Sept. 9. That primes him for a return in November, which couldn’t come at a better time for the Lakers.
The talented big man, who finished No. 4 in the Sixth Man of the Year voting in 2019-20 and No. 9 in 2022-23, will look to boost L.A.’s reserve unit once he returns and make his case to take home the prestigious award next spring. The Lakers won’t achieve their championship goals this year if their bench does not drastically improve. Wood’s value to the team will continue to show itself the more he misses time, as well as once he takes the floor again.
