One of the biggest new additions made by the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason was big man Christian Wood. An extremely skilled offensive player, Wood is capable of stretching the floor and scoring from all three levels. But there have been questions about his commitment to defense, which is something head coach Darvin Ham won’t stand for.
Ham made his name on the defensive end and the Lakers took on a defensive identity when they made their run last season. This team makes its name on the defensive end and Wood will have to buy in to that if he plans on getting regular minutes for this team.
And it looks as if he is doing exactly that as Ham praised Wood for his work on that end during the Lakers’ first practice of the year. “Just his attention to detail,” Ham said about what stood out from Wood. “He wants to be elite defensively and he was one of the main voices you heard in pick-and-roll defense, in the breakdown, in the scrimmage.
“His ability to switch and sit down in a stance and try to keep the guards in front, rebounding, blocking shots. He was truly, truly extremely engaged on the defensive side of the ball.”
Wood has shown the ability to make an impact in certain aspects of that side of the ball. He averaged just under 10 rebounds per game in two seasons with the Rockets and has averaged over a block per game in each of the last three seasons.
Really locking into that would be a huge boost for the Lakers, and Wood himself is making it a point to focus on defense coming into this season.
“Yeah, especially coming into training camp,” the big man said. “One of the things I said at Media Day yesterday is I want to work on defense and being that vocal leader. If I’m gonna be playing the 5, playing the 4, I definitely have to be vocal so I made an emphasis today.”
Much of the focus regarding the combination of Wood and Anthony Davis has been about how they fit offensively. But if Wood can be impactful defensively, it gives a whole new dimension to the Lakers and their ability to play big with supreme rim protection on defense while also maintaining proper spacing on offense. Wood is certainly looking like an x-factor for the Lakers season.
Lakers’ Christian Wood wants to prove false narratives wrong this season
It was odd to see a player as talented and productive as Wood has been the last three seasons sign for only the veteran minimum late into free agency. Much has been written on potential issues Wood has had, but he pushed back on what he believes are false narratives and how they are motivating him this year.
“I’ve seen a lot of talk of, ‘Why is he going for the vet minimum?’ Wood said at Lakers Media Day. “Maybe it’s character issues, maybe it’s this, maybe it’s that but when you really look at it I’ve never had any problem on a team maybe besides Houston and that was for defending a teammate. And if you asked me, I would probably do it again.
“But other than that, I’ve never had any problems with any team. Never had any locker room problems. Every coach that I’ve talked to has loved me. I still talk to (Paul) Silas and (Dwayne) Casey, and all those guys to this day. They root for me. Darvin Ham’s been rooting for me. He’s a guy that’s always been in my corner rooting for me, so I would say I have a lot to prove. This will probably be one of my most motivated seasons since being undrafted.”
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