At this point in time, the Los Angeles Lakers are simply hoping to secure a spot in the Play-In Tournament, with the team bouncing back and forth with the Golden State Warriors between the No. 9 and No. 10 spots in the Western Conference.
With 13 regular-season games remaining, the Lakers have an opportunity to move up the standings in the West in order to secure a better spot in the postseason, namely No. 6, where they can avoid the Play-In Tournament entirely.
Unfortunately, injuries continue to be a problem for Los Angeles, with veteran forward/center Christian Wood likely done for the season after he underwent a surgical procedure on his left knee.
The Lakers sent out an update on Wood’s status on Tuesday, which obviously is not a step in the right direction for the team or the player.
CHRISTIAN WOOD UPDATE via Lakers PR:
Christian Wood underwent a successful arthroscopic surgical procedure on his left knee today. The procedure was performed by Dr. Kristofer J. Jones at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Further updates will be provided as appropriate.
— Ryan Ward (@RyanWardLA) March 19, 2024
The loss of Wood for the season will prove costly to the Lakers as it hurts the team’s frontcourt depth, with Rui Hachimura taking on the starting job at power forward while Anthony Davis holds it down at the center position.
With Wood presumably out for the rest of the way, the Lakers will lean on Taurean Prince and Jaxson Hayes to help shoulder the load in the frontcourt, which could be a problem if Los Angeles faces some of the bigger teams in the NBA playoffs.
In the 50 games he played in his first season with the Lakers, Wood averaged 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, shooting 46.6% from the floor and 30.7% from beyond the arc.
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