Christian Wood says JJ Redick told him he can focus on scoring this season
JJ Redick knows Christian Wood can help the Lakers offense, so he’s encouraging him to be more aggressive.
We won't be seeing Christian Wood during this Lakers preseason, as he's recovering from his second knee surgery.
However, he spoke with Spectrum SportsNet during Media Day about his potential role on this team.
“That I can go back to playing like I did in Dallas and Houston. I think last year, what was asked of me wasn’t more so scoring, it was more so ‘We need defensive rebounding.’ This year, he was like ‘Hey man, if you have a mismatch, I want you take advantage of it. I want you to use all of your abilities and I want you to take bigger guys off the dribble and post little guys up.’ That’s what I’m going to get back to.”
Wood played for the Houston Rockets in 2021-22 and the Dallas Mavericks the following season.
During those two years, Wood averaged 17.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, far better than the 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists he had as a Laker during the 2023-24 season.
Possibly the biggest blow to his game last year was the nosedive his 3-point shooting numbers took. Wood was a 39% shooter from three during his last year as a Rocket. As a Laker, he barely mustered up a 30% average from deep.
To be fair, Wood did see a dip in his minutes with the Lakers, which partially explains the lower numbers, but his production suffered a stark decline, no matter how you slice it.
If Redick can unlock that version of Wood that spent time in Texas, this team will get a center that crashes the boards and shoots well from beyond the arc. Suddenly, he can have a best-case-scenario season as a Laker.
Wood's numbers being even close to his Houston and Dallas stats would give the franchise its best center since the title year when Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee dominated.
Unfortunately, due to Wood's injury and his subpar 2024, the Lakers are reportedly still looking to add another center to the roster.
Given that the Lakers already have 15 players on the team and are also dangerously close to the second tax apron, the hope is that they can improve from within. If Redick and Wood can get together and maximize his output it can make life a lot easier for the Lakers front office.
It shouldn't be too long before we get some Wood action; he’ll be re-evaluated later this month. While he’ll most likely miss the first games of the season, he should be returning to the rotation, barring any setbacks, sometime in November.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.