One of the unexpected contributors for the Los Angeles Lakers in their victory over the Charlotte Hornets was big man Christian Wood. After playing 30 minutes against the San Antonio Spurs back on Dec. 15, Wood had seen just five minutes total over the Lakers’ last five games with three DNPs over that stretch.
But against Charlotte, Wood played 23 minutes off the bench and had a strong showing, finishing with nine points, five rebounds and four assists in the Lakers’ 21-point victory. Like many of the Lakers’ role players, Wood has been in and out of the rotation so it was great to see him contribute in a big way.
Having your minutes fluctuate like this can be tough on players, but Wood was able to stay locked by just continuing to put in work on and off the court.
“Just me doing conditioning, lifting, watching a lot of film,” Wood said when asked how he stayed ready. “Seeing areas where we could work on. We’ve been lacking a lot in 3-point shooting, so I think is a big thing for me to come in and make shots.”
Wood certainly brought the shooting for the Lakers as he was a perfect 3-of-3 from deep on this night. His shooting as a big man is one of his biggest strengths, but he has struggled this year, shooting just 31.3% from 3-point range. So to see some shots go down was big for him.
“It’s real good. I think, especially lately as I was in the shooting slump,” the Lakers big man added. “I don’t know what I’m shooting from three, but to see some go in and find a rhythm is a big time for me.”
The Lakers’ 2023 is set to end with another road back-to-back, but the team will be able to enjoy some more home games as the year 2024 begins and Wood is very much looking forward to that.
“Yeah, I’m ready,” Wood noted. “I think we have a bunch of home games coming up during that stretch. So that’d be good just to be at home, play a lot of games in front of our home crowd. It’s gonna be fun.”
The road travels in December took a lot out of the Lakers so getting some home games will be nice. And if it helps Wood continue to get his shooting rhythm going, the Lakers will be even more thankful.
Lakers’ Austin Reaves praises Christian Wood’s fight on the glass
While Wood’s shooting was the focus, something else stood out to Austin Reaves about his Lakers’ teammate and that was his fight on the glass which Reaves pointed out after the win.
“C-Wood, I don’t know how many rebounds he had, but he had a lot of possessions where he was fighting in the post on shots and getting his hand on rebounds,” Reaves said. “I don’t know if they give them to him but those are big plays for us where he might not get the rebound but someone else does and we just played good as a unit and gave those guys some time to relax.”
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