The Los Angeles Lakers have something to cheer for despite suffering a loss against the Denver Nuggets in the opening game of the series. Per Shams Charania, Christian Wood could return to the lineup by Game 3, giving some ray of hope to the LA fans. The forward’s return to action after more than two months could have a huge impact on the series, especially on the defensive end, helping Anthony Davis prevent Nikola Jokic from going on scoring outbursts.
In the latest episode of FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back”, Shams Charania reported that Christian Wood planned on returning from injury on Thursday for Game 3. The NBA Insider mentioned how Wood could be best used by Darvin Ham as a defensive stopper, guarding Nikola Jokic.
“He is planning to return to the lineup on Thursday in Game 3 in LA against Denver So that’s just another active body to throw at Nikola Jokic… The hope is Christian Wood is clear to play on Thursday in Game 3,” Charania said.
Charania further claimed that no player has been able to stop the Joker since Dwight Howard did in the 2020 Bubble, during the Lakers-Nuggets series. Hoping that the 6ft 8” forward can achieve the same success as Howard four years ago, Shams seemed to be excited about what Wood might bring to the table during this first-round series.
“The last time anyone’s really been able to contain him was Dwight Howard in 2020 in the Bubble. But, beyond that the Lakers obviously hoping that Wood could provide a different look for them in the front court,” Shams claimed.
Dwight Howard had a huge say in the 2020 Western Conference Finals series. Playing for more than 20 minutes per game, Howard recorded a modest 8 points and 5.2 rebounds. However, the center was the LA side’s biggest asset on the other end of the floor. Primarily guarding Jokic, the latter was contained to record merely 21.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 5 assists per game.
Having gone up against the Serbian superstar on 11 occasions in his career, Christian Wood has failed to contain the two-time MVP. Apart from the European legend winning more matchups, he even totaled more points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks than Wood, completely outplaying the latter.
However, the Purple & Gold will be motivated by the fact that Wood was able to contain Jokic to a 9-20 shooting display from the field in their last meeting back in February. Until Wood’s return, Anthony Davis will have to continue being the sole defender responsible for stopping Nikola Jokic from stuffing the stat sheet.
Anthony Davis revealed his defensive plan against Nikola Jokic and co.
Before the Los Angeles Lakers-Denver Nuggets first-round series commenced, Anthony Davis revealed some insights as to how Darvin Ham’s boys planned on winning. In terms of offense, LeBron James and co. have been among the best teams in the league, recording 118 points per game on an efficient 49.9% FG, per NBA.com. However, according to AD, the team will need to pull their sock on the defensive end if they want to stand a chance of advancing to the second round.
After revealing that the Colorado side has numerous offensive threats apart from Jokic – Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, among others -, trusting each other on the defensive end was a plan that Davis wanted the Lakers to follow.
Davis explained the importance of defense in this series to Spectrum SportsNet, “We got to hang our hats on defense,” Davis said. “Defensively is what is gonna help us win basketball games. Obviously they have a lot of threats on that team with Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, KCP, Braun, so it’s not gonna be easy. But if we continue to have faith and trust in each other defensively, if we can hold these guys to one shot…”
Even though Davis didn’t finish as a top 3 contender for the Defensive Player of the Year, he’s the anchor for the team on the defensive end of the floor. Despite recording 3 steals and 7 blocks in Game 1 of the series, the Lakers weren’t able to stop Jokic as he ended the night with a 32-point, 12-rebound double-double. per NBA.com. It’ll be interesting to see just how well they improve in Game 2 and whether or not Nikola Jokic is guarded well enough to even the series up 1-1.
