Source offers optimistic outlook on Christian Wood’s injury recovery for Lakers

ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that Los Angeles Lakers big man Christian Wood could be back on the floor for the team within a fortnight.

Wood played in the Lakers’ final game before the All-Star break against the Utah Jazz on Feb. 14 and finished with two points, four rebounds and one assist while shooting 1-of-5 from the field and 0-of-4 from 3-point range. But, the Lakers still earned a 16-point road victory over Utah.

The big man arguably had his best game of the month so far in the team’s matchup against his former team in the Detroit Pistons the day before on Feb. 13. He dropped 11 points, four rebounds, one steal and one block on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 from deep in limited minutes off the Los Angeles bench.

The 28-year-old has logged just one start with Los Angeles so far during the 2023-24 regular season — his first season with the team — and is averaging 6.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game on 46.6 percent shooting from the floor and 30.7 percent from deep.

When the Lakers announced that they would start big man Jaxson Hayes instead of Wood against the Atlanta Hawks back on Jan. 30, Wood hopped on X and seemingly expressed disbelief regarding the team’s decision.

Wood and the Lakers currently own a 30-26 record — which has the team as the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference — and will take on the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night in what will be the team’s first game after the All-Star break.

Prior to joining the Lakers, Wood — who went undrafted in the 2015 NBA Draft — spent time with the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers, Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans.

Recently, he played 67 games with the Mavericks during the 2022-23 regular season and averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 blocks per game. But he spent just one season with the team, as he agreed to a two-year deal with the Lakers in the 2023 offseason.