Report: Christian Wood to have Surgery, but Vincent, Reddish Close to Return. Vanderbilt Still Up in the Air.

Locked On Lakers - Daily Podcast On The Los Angeles Lakers

Many things related to the ability of the Lakers to make a run at the end of the year, and potentially into the playoffs, have to do with knowing who might be available to play.

To that end, Monday was a fairly instructive day... kinda, sorta. We did learn, though not from the team, that PF/C Christian Wood's knee is going to keep him out weeks longer, possibly through the end of the season. So that's not good. There was conflicting information about Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt. While some reports said that both would miss the rest of the year, others noted that Vincent expects to play again and is working his way back. For his part, Darvin Ham spoke about both in a manner that implied the team is expecting both to suit up before the end of the season. Clearly, though, Vanderbilt is further behind than Vincent.

And what do the Lakers do with Vincent when he's back? On the one hand, with Spencer Dinwiddie not quite panning out as expected, the Lakers could potentially kick the tires on Vincent, despite having only played five games this year. On the other, they really don't have the luxury of experimentation at this point.

Regardless, the absence of Wood leaves them with only one other true big on the roster, and that one (Jaxson Hayes) has his limitations. This does tilt the roster smaller and plays away from theoretical strengths, while shining a light on potential shortcomings (like rebounding).

Finally, LeBron James is on a new podcast with JJ Redick, and it's made for basketball nerds. Like, really nerdy. But a fun listen, because it's a great window into one of the things that truly separates LeBron from... well, everyone. The man's hoops IQ is off the charts, and when combined with his drive and physical gifts, you get arguably the greatest player the game has ever seen.

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers are getting players back... sort of.

SEGMENT 2: Figuring out what to do with guys as they return isn't as simple as it sounds.

SEGMENT 3: LeBron's brain.

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