Christian Wood to Undergo Surgery, Miss ‘Weeks’

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Darvin Ham of the Los Angeles Lakers.

THE the Los Angeles Lakers won a great victory over the Atlanta Falcons on March 18.

Their good fortune largely ended there, as they also suffered a potentially significant loss in the frontcourt.

“ESPN Sources with [Dave McMenamin]: Los Angeles Lakers F Christian Bois will undergo left knee arthroscopy and is expected to be out for several weeks,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported in an article on X on March 18. “The Lakers’ final regular season game will be April 14. »

“Wood has already been out for over a month after experiencing knee swelling during the All-Star break,” McMenamin wrote in its subsequent report.

Wood, 28, is averaging 6.9 points on 56.8% true shooting with 5.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists this season. Despite his modest individual statistics, Wood has had a tangible impact on the Lakers when he’s on the court.

The Lakers’ net efficiency differential is plus-1.9 with him on the ground and plus-0.2 without him, according to Cleaning The Glass.

Fortunately for the Lakers, Jaxson Hayes won against the Hawks with 10 rebounds.

Lakers HC Darvin Ham Delivers Positive Injury News Away From Christian Wood

The head coach Darvin Ham did not address Wood’s injury after the game. Before the contest, however, he provided updates on Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent. The news regarding Cam Reddish was even more encouraging.

“Darvin Ham says Jared Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent progressing “as planned” The Athletic’s Jovan Buha reported on X on March 18. Cam Reddish should return soon.

Vanderbilt has missed the Lakers’ last 19 games. He also missed the first 20 games.

He is averaging 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals in his 29 appearances for the Lakers this season. Like Wood, the Lakers have been better with Vanderbilt than without, and the numbers are even more lopsided.

The Lakers have a plus-6.1 clear efficiency differential with Vanderbilt on the field. This differential falls to minus-0.6 without him.

Vincent has only played one game since October and five games all season.

His last action took place at the end of December. He might need a longer runway to build momentum than the Lakers had before the playoffs began. Vincent averages 5.4 points, 3.0 assists and 1.0 rebounds.

Reddish has missed 19 of the last 24 games, including the last three games in a row. He is averaging 6.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists this season.

He also became a starter before injuries cut him short in mid-January.

Lakers’ win over Hawks is key to Play-In tournament run

The Lakers ended a two-game skid at just the right time with this victory which, combined with the Warriors of the Golden State‘ loss for the New York Knicks in the evening, placed LA in ninth place in the rankings. Western Conference Standings.

This is fresh off a road loss to the Warriors two nights prior.

The two teams will meet once again (April 9) for a showdown to determine where they will end up in the Play-In tournament at the end of the regular season.

Neither team is outside of 11th place Houston Rockets, who has won seven of his last 10 outings. That’s a better record than the four teams currently in contention for the Play-In in the West, leaving them just 4.0 games behind the Lakers in the standings.

Josh Buckhalter covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com with a focus on the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos. He has covered the NBA and NFL since 2016, including on FanSided, Last Word on Sports and Clocker Sports. He is based in Villa Park, Illinois. Follow Josh on Twitter and Instagram: @JoshGBuck Learn more about Josh Buckhalter