Grading each Lakers player at the halfway mark of the season
Lakers player grades: Cs get degrees
Christian Wood = C+
Christian Wood's entire career has been a roller coaster ride of ups and downs, and this season has been no different. The versatile offensive threat was cooking from downtown to start the season (40.7% from 3 in his first 10 games) but has progressively tapered off in that department (34.1% for the season).
After averaging just 5.6 points and 4.1 rebounds over the course of 9 games in December, he is putting up 12.2 points and 7.2 rebounds over the course of his first 6 games of January. That type of variance illustrates the ever-swinging pendulum that predicates Wood's production. Defensively, there have actually been a few games where he has more or less dominated. However, those nights have been few and far in between similar to his offensive outbursts as the 28-year-old searches for consistency.
Cam Reddish = C+
Reddish has done well to secure a label as a legitimate NBA basketball player in 2023-2024. The former lottery pick has struggled to find his way early in his career, and his struggles have more specifically been linked to his inability to find ways to contribute to winning. Through his first few seasons, he gave glimpses of offensive stardom while simultaneously showcasing an insubordinate sense in the area of efficiency.
This season, he has pushed all of that aside and made strong efforts to become the lockdown defender that the Lakers have patiently waited for in recent seasons. He has always had the tools to reach that level, and while he still has a lot of work to do Reddish has more than done his part defensively this season.
Max Christie = C+
After a summer in which he looked like a completely different player compared to last season, Max Christie had some NBA writers wondering if he could make a run at the NBA's Most Improved Player award in 2023-2024.
Through the opening half of the season, those lofty expectations have come crashing back down to reality. Through no fault of his own (he has been semi-solid when given a consistent role in the rotation), the sophomore has been a bit of a disappointment so far.
Jalen Hood-Schifino = C
It is difficult to gauge the performance of JHS being that he has played just 75 minutes in the team's first 41 games. In the brief moments when he has been on the floor, he has been neither terrible nor terrific.
Maxwell Lewis = C
Lewis has played a grand total of 53 minutes in the 12 games he has appeared in, and just like his fellow rookie Hood-Schifino he has not done anything in those minutes to produce any type of major concern or curiosity within the organization.