Stupid a** Ham still not playing this guy enough...he has played well for us all year tbh I better not see Jaxson Hayes the rest of this f***ing season. Wood should be getting all the backup C minutes and he sshould also see time alongside LeBron and AD. I also liked him with LeBron and Vando.
Right, it’s not just about making shots and scoring. Tonight he provided a legitimate interior presence when AD was out. Contested shots at the rim, pulled down physical rebounds, attacked the rim effectively. And he did this against a team with some center depth. I don’t get why in so many other games he’s completely invisible in the paint? But yeah, totally agree. Wood has not lived up to my expectations this year, and I saw some promise in Hayes. But at this point it’s pointless to try to split minutes between both of them. If hypothetically Hayes consistently played to his ceiling, made smart reads/picks, put pressure on attacking the rim on pick/rolls as a reliable lob threat, was able to block shots without fouling, etc… sure, go ahead and play him. But he’s just as likely to put up an invisible game where he’s a net negative due to boneheaded plays. Hayes and Wood have a similar floor of being clumsy offense players that provide zero defensive protection. But I do think Wood has a much higher ceiling that he’s more likely to reach on any given night than Hayes. Wood needs all the backup C minutes IMO
How many times do I have to say it (Ham, I know you're reading this!): Wood needs to play! Please figure it out.
This is his main problem.He gets stuck in his white swan mode.If his motor were better all teams would be after him
Wood can hoop, he's can be a productive player if he gets consistent minutes. It's going to be interesting, what happens with his minutes when Rui gets back.
Has certainly stepped it up lately Moving away from the Wood/Hayes twin tower lineups has helped him.
OK, this is a good start. Now, just reduce Prince's minutes slightly and find some extra time for Wood and we're onto something.
is there room in the lineup for rui and wood? serious question. i think they bring some similar things. neither can really play the 5 in the way we need it, imo.
I thought Wood and Rui together, would be a potent 1-2 scoring punch off the bench. It hasn't materialized up to this point...yet.
No IMO and Wood is more valuable as he actually rebounds. Rebounding has cost the Lakers numerous games this year
I’d love to go big with a starting lineup of Dlo, Rui, Lebron, AD and Wood. But I’d also be fine going more defensive with Vando instead of Rui. I’d just like to see more of Wood with the starters.
Easy to blame Ham but there are a lot of Rui fans on this forum as well Rui goes down, Wood gets more minutes and looks like a better player than either him or Rui looked earlier in the season. Consistent role for him: he's shooting better, rebounding better, and adds more rim protection. This is going to be a problem. Rui has a hard time as a SF guarding perimeter guys and the rebounding issues are terrible with him on the court if he's one of your bigs. And what about Prince getting too many minutes - Rui not being able to play wing as a defender makes it that you're better off with the platoon of Cam/Vando and more Max if you want to go that route. Max is not only a better defender than Rui, he's a much better rebounder despite Rui's size, add in Max's growing into the off-ball scoring role I know which I would lean. So here is what the data looks like to me: More Max and more Wood Cam/Vando platoon at the 3 Cut down on Prince Rui not much left over. All these guys appear to play better with a set role and some guaranteed minutes to help them overcome mistakes, warm up, etc so I don't think playing guys 5 minutes here or there is going to cut it. Are people going to be happy with Ham if he does that because what the production of these guys and as a team looks like IMO. The last two wins were close but I thought clearly the Lakers looked like the better team both times against two very hot teams
Good points and while I do like Rui a lot, I think a consolidation trade with him and Russell makes sense for this reason. Both guys have seemed to be on the outs with the staff in terms of their respective roles. I'm also fine with keeping Rui because he's a good player and making more room for him with less Prince minutes.
