Over the past two games, the lack of minutes for Los Angeles Lakers big man Moritz Wagner has been puzzling.
With the season all but over for the Los Angeles Lakers, the time has come to give young players some more opportunity. After the playoffs became clearly out of reach, the Lakers have started to give some players more minutes than we saw earlier in the season.
Despite the Lakers clearly looking toward next season, it has been puzzling to see the inconsistent minutes for Moritz Wagner. Wagner was the first-round pick of the Lakers this season, but never really saw meaningful minutes.
Compared to draft picks of recent years like Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Josh Hart, Wagner did not have the same immediate impact that those three had. So far this season, Wagner is averaging just 4.0 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.
The minutes just haven’t been there for Wagner this season, but they should be now. In a recent game against the Boston Celtics, Wagner played a season-high with 34 minutes. While playing the most minutes he has all season, Wagner played very well. In the loss, Wagner totaled 22 points, six rebounds and three assists.
After the really strong game against the Celtics, it was safe to assume that Wagner was going to continue playing a sizable role for the Lakers moving forward. However, in the next game against the Bulls, Wagner played just 10 minutes. In the last game against the Raptors, it was even less at just eight minutes.
Considering Wagner was a first round pick and the season is over for the Lakers, his lack of minutes in the last two games is really puzzling. Wagner should be playing at least in the mid-20s every night for the rest of the season.
With nothing left to play for, the Lakers should be developing a guy like Wagner. As a big man that can stretch the floor, Wagner could be a very valuable asset for the team next season. However, they need to play him to see what he can do.