Plenty of Los Angeles Lakers fans are hopeful and even excited about the team’s free-agent signing of Christian Wood on Tuesday.
Wood, who is listed at 6 feet, 9 inches and 214 pounds, can play both power forward and center and is an instant offense man who gets buckets in bunches. The Lakers, who were already looking very potent on the offensive end, could be bursting at the seams in that department.
Buy Lakers TicketsThe concerns with Wood are his (very) bad defense and his reportedly outsized opinion of his own offensive abilities. But if he is on his best behavior and is at least a neutral defensive player, he could help make Los Angeles a truly elite offensive team.
These areas, in particular, should see a boost thanks to Wood.
3-point shooting
Outside shooting has been a big bugaboo for the Lakers in recent seasons. They finished 25th in 3-point accuracy this past season. During the early days of the schedule, they seemingly couldn’t throw a pea into the Pacific Ocean.
During the 2021-22 campaign, they weren’t much better — 22nd in the NBA to be exact, and the year before they were at 21st. Even during the 2019-20 season, when they won the world championship, the Lakers clocked in at just 21st in 3-point shooting percentage during the regular season.
Even with all the nice additions they have made over the last seven months or so, they still seemed to be a little lacking in the outside shooting department.
Wood has made 38.1% of his trey attempts over the last three seasons. That accuracy has also come on some solid volume, as he has attempted 4.7 treys in 29.3 minutes a game during that span, which translates to 5.7 attempts per 36 minutes.
In L.A., Wood will be tasked with spacing the floor and making defenses pay for keying on LeBron James and Anthony Davis. He should be able to handle that responsibility well by virtue of his strong accuracy on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers.
Christian Wood: A True Spacing Big.
Wood’s 3pt Catch & Shoot %’s:
2023: 42% (1.4 3pm)
2022: 40% (1.4 3pm)
2021: 37% (1.5 3pm)Those %’s on THAT volume of 3pt makes are tremendous for ANY player, let alone a Forward/Center.
A Splash Bro in the Front Court 💦🥵 pic.twitter.com/EqbbxuEwyg
— Lakers Legacy (@LakersLegacyPod) September 6, 2023
Pick-and-roll/pick-and-pop
The pick-and-roll is one of the oldest plays in basketball, yet it is so commonly run in the modern era, and it can be so effective when the right players are running it the right way.
Wood seems to have tremendous pick-and-roll potential for the Lakers. Most of his shots are taken either near the basket or from 3-point range, as seen in this shot chart posted by Silver Screen and Roll’s Alex Regla, per Cleaning The Glass.
Beyond just knocking down shots, Christian Wood's spacing/skillset theoretically adds a drastically new dimension to the front court that the team has lacked in recent memory
To highlight this, here's how Wood's shotchart (@cleantheglass) compares to the Lakers bigs last season: pic.twitter.com/3hQP9UG3P1
— Alex Regla (@AlexmRegla) September 6, 2023
None of the Lakers’ other big men had that type of shot distribution last season.
That will make Wood, at least conceivably, a versatile threat when he sets screens for the Lakers’ ball-handlers. He can roll to the basket, and he is a strong finisher at the rim. But if defenses seal off the paint on such actions, he can simply pop out to the 3-point line and do his damage there.
Even better, Wood has been one of the NBA’s most efficient screeners.
Most Efficient Screeners (min 100 roll/pop possessions used):
1. Dwight Powell—1.47 ppp
2. Christian Wood—1.44 ⭐️
3. Clarke—1.40
4. Capela—1.38
5. Jokic—1.37
6. Claxton—1.36
7. Gafford—1.34via @NBA_University pic.twitter.com/7j0iI5I626
— Lakers Legacy (@LakersLegacyPod) September 6, 2023
Transition
The Lakers have been a fast-breaking team since James arrived in 2018, and there is no reason to believe they will get away from that style of play. They have grown considerably younger and more skilled since midway through last season. While they may not be the speediest team in the NBA, they have a number of guys who are fluid and at their best in an up-tempo game.
Wood is one of those players. When he wants to, he can fill the wing on the fast break well and end transition opportunities with a dunk. On occasion, he has even shown the ability to grab a defensive rebound and lead the break himself like a guard.
Speaking of rebounds, Wood is good on the boards as well, which will also help the Lakers’ up-tempo the game. He averaged 8.9 rebounds a game over the last three seasons, and it is an area in which they have needed help.
Other than Davis and James, they lacked anyone who could be productive on the boards, save for possibly Thomas Bryant, who spent the first half of the 2021-22 campaign with them. Now, when James or Davis aren’t on the court, Wood can help L.A. control its defensive boards.
