The Los Angeles Lakers received undesirable news about the availability of Christian Wood, Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent after CBS Bill Reiter reported that the said players are expected to miss the remainder of the NBA season. With ESPN citing a so-called arthroscopic knee surgery expected to sideline the player for several weeks, Wood will head into recovery.
A season without Kobe, Bynum and Odom, playoff included, would be hard for the team to cope with since it means many run-downs when the duo is played all through. They have only 13 games to play before the end of the regular season, which is only a little more than the Golden State Warriors, who are in the first position in the ratings. As a lower seed of the competitive Western Conference, they aim to serve notice.
From the 30th of October Vincent had been forced to the bench due to a knee injury but even thereafter passing the non-contact regime clearance he was not short of a return due to the drawn-out absence of time. Vanderbilt, who has been battling a mid-foot sprain since February 1 and is presently in rehabilitation, was expected to be back on the playing field towards the end of this season. Lakers coach Darvin Ham also alluded to the progress they have made in his final comments before the contest against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, hoping that they will be ready to return to action as per the background plan.
The absence of Vanderbilt among the pair seems to have the biggest impact on the Lakers rather than the others. Such specialization was the hallmark of his game, and it was akin to a brick wall for the defence, as it gave the team a hard time scoring. Since the Lakers’ number is based on their defence after the injury, it’s currently ranked only 27th in the league. When Vanderbilt was active in the Lakers’ games this season, they allowed six points less per 100 possessions compared to when he was not actively present.
Although Christian Wood contribution and the number of minutes played were reduced this season, the four-time NBA All-Star is gone from the Lakers’ team and a key part of their lineup. As Jaxson Hayes has already seen more court time, the absence of Wood creates the role for him to serve increased minutes.
However, the developments are still in their infancy and therefore, paving their path to the playoffs requires the Lakers to endure the play-in round first. The time irrelevance of such accidents raises the major hurdle for the team in their journey to the most critical sprint coming closer.
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