Last season, Los Angeles Lakers superstar big man Anthony Davis played primarily at center and had arguably the best stretches of his Lakers career aside from the 2020 bubble. While Davis will do whatever is necessary for the team, he maintains his preference to play power forward, and the team’s additions of Jaxson Hayes and Christian Wood should help that be more of a reality.
Wood and Hayes bring completely different skill sets despite both being seven-footers. Hayes is an athletic, high-flying, rim-running big similar to what JaVale McGee brought to the team in 2020. Wood, on the other hand, is a skilled offensive player capable of stretching the floor from deep and getting buckets from anywhere on the court.
Both are capable of playing next to Davis, and the Lakers’ superstar believes both bigs complement him well. Davis also admitted that he still is unsure just how much he will be playing center as opposed to power forward.
“Jaxson is very athletic, a rim protector and lob threat, kind of like JaVale [McGee]. C-Wood can score, can play at all three levels of the floor. So he’s a little different from Dwight [Howard] but yeah, they’re two great bigs who can complement me very well,” Davis said. “Me and Darvin haven’t had a chance to sit down and worry about the role between the four and five or things like that but having two guys alongside me can be a great thing, a great possibility of doing great things on the front line.
“So we’ll see how it plays out when we go through camp. I know we’re gonna test out different lineups during preseason and we’ll see from there.”
In all likelihood, Davis will continue to start games at center, and with the success he had last season, that is the right move as he anchors both the Lakers’ offense and defense. But just having the option to be able to play Davis more at the power forward should help lessen the load and punishment on his body throughout the year.
The fit with Wood is a bit more seamless due to Wood’s ability to space the floor on offense which allows Davis to continue to operate in the paint. Davis has shown the ability to play with a center like Hayes in the past, but he will need to regain his previous perimeter shooting form in order for those lineups to really thrive.
Nonetheless, it is that versatility that makes the Lakers dangerous overall. Being able to pair Davis, Wood and Hayes, depending on the matchup, allows the Lakers to face whatever challenge the opposition presents and have an answer to anything this season brings.
Christian Wood believes he and Anthony Davis make ‘crazy pairing’ for Lakers
Christian Wood is on the same page as his Lakers teammate and sees himself and Anthony Davis fitting together perfectly this season.
Wood was asked about Davis and noted that Davis has long been his favorite player to watch from afar in the NBA, and now that they are together, they will make a ‘crazy pairing.’ Wood added that he feels the two have a lot of similarities, and he is willing to do whatever is needed for the Lakers to succeed.
