Christian Wood, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Gabe Vincent are expected to miss the rest of the season, according to Bill Reiter of CBS Sports. On Tuesday, the NBA insider confirmed that the three role players have been ruled out for the remainder of games, including the playoffs.
“Sources tell CBS Sports that Los Angeles Lakers players Christian Wood, Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent will miss the rest of the season. While Vanderbilt still could return, sources say, the expectation is that will not happen. ESPN first reported the news on Wood.”
This is devastating news for the Lakers, a team that is trying hard to make up ground in the standings. While he played just 26 games, Jarred Vanderbilt was very good on the court this season. The versatile forward averaged 5.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game on 51.8% shooting. During last year’s Western Conference Finals run his defense on stars like Stephen Curry and others was the key to victory and the Lakers expected him to build on that in this campaign.
Christian Wood played 50 games for the Lakers and averaged 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game on 46.6% shooting. Wood was a solid backup for the Lakers and often swung the tide of games with his shooting off the bench but he hasn’t played since February 14 after experiencing heavy swelling in the area. With Wood set to undergo an “arthroscopic procedure” on his left knee, the Lakers will have to do without his valuable bench production.
This past summer, the Lakers signed Gabe Vincent as their big free-agent acquisition. Darvin Ham recently confirmed that Vincent is progressing nicely in his recovery, but we won’t see him again this season. Gabe was a premium shooter with the Heat and hoped to make himself useful in Los Angeles. Sadly Vincent has only played in 5 games for the Lakers this season, during which averaged 5.4 points per game with 3.0 assists and 1.0 rebounds on 37.5% shooting.
Without three quality rotation players, the Lakers are stumbling to close this season and they will be shorthanded as they fight for their playoff lives. But with the West so tight and the Rockets closing in on that final play-in spot, the Lakers will have to find a way to adapt if they want to survive into the later rounds.
How Will The Lakers Manage Their Rotation Without Those 3 Players?
With the Lakers now noticeably thinner, it’ll fall on everyone else to pick up the slack. As we saw against the Hawks on Monday, Rui Hachimura will be a more featured member of the rotation. He got 17 minutes in the win over Atlanta and that number will likely rise now that Vanderbilt has been ruled out for the season.
In the backcourt, Spencer Dinwiddie has been their key off the bench with Gabe Vincent out. His play has been rough since arriving in Los Angeles, and he scored just 3 points on Monday, but his skills as a ball handler and isolation scorer make him indispensable in a shorthanded backcourt.
Arguably the most glaring hole for the Lakers right now is at center. Anthony Davis has been running the position full-time this season but without Christian Wood’s scoring off the bench, they have nobody to take over when Davis sits or misses time. Jaxson Hayes and Harry Giles III are the only alternatives for the position but it remains to be seen if either of them is ready for intense, late-season basketball.
As always, the only chance the Lakers have rests on the shoulders of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. If they can stay healthy and get into a rhythm for the postseason, it could change everything in the West this year.
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