Lakers’ vaunted depth has yet to materialize

Hey everyone, it’s Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, welcome back to the Lakers newsletter, coming to you live from the road where the dirty clothes are outnumbering the positives for the Lakers.

Today, we’re going to examine the Lakers’ depth — a supposed strength entering the season.

Admittedly, the sample sizes are tiny, but we can make some assessments based on the good and bad that we’ve seen so for.

Christian Wood

What they wanted: Some scoring punch off the bench.

What they’ve gotten: An effective shooter and rebounder who has surprised with his one-on-one defense.

Will it change? After a miserable preseason, Wood has played himself into better shape and has found a better rhythm as the Lakers’ key reserve. His size has been especially important on the glass, and he has looked comfortable in lineups with Anthony Davis and LeBron James. The defense might be a little bit of fool’s gold — it has never been considered a strength — but so far, Wood has looked committed to playing a winning style of basketball. So far, so good.

Rui Hachimura

What they wanted: A physical scorer who could help on the other end with his size and defense.

What they’ve gotten: Hachimura was on the back end of Darvin Ham’s rotation before suffering a concussion in the Lakers’ third game. He’s nearing a return.

Will it change? The big things last season with Hachimura were consistency and aggression, and he started to show signs of that against the Kings before being injured. The Lakers might not get the player who made everything in the postseason last spring, but it’s still a safe bet they’ll find a way for him to settle into a role. The Lakers need him back, looking the way he did in Sacramento, sooner than later.

Gabe Vincent

What they wanted: A physical, experienced combo guard who could run the offense for stretches.

What they’ve gotten: It’s hard to really say after an injured back cost him most of the preseason, and after four games a knee injury has him sidelined. After a rough debut against Denver, though, he has been a positive despite the cold shooting.

Will it change? The defensive energy that Vincent showed against the Suns, Kings (save for a bad foul on De’Aaron Fox) and the Magic was critical to the Lakers in those three games, and while he can be a streaky shooter, it’s a decent bet he’ll make more than 7% of his three-point shots. His character and work ethic got him to this point in his career, and provided he gets healthy, I’d expect him to be a positive.

Taurean Prince

What they wanted: A classic 3-and-D wing.

What they’ve gotten: One of the team’s best shooters and a fill-in as a point-of-attack defender.

Forward Taurean Prince, looking to pass as he drives against Magic forward Franz Wagner has been the classic 3-and-D wing for the Lakers this season.

(Ryan Sun / Associated Press)

Will it change? The shooting numbers — 38.5% from deep — should hold as they are in line with his career averages. Prince has shown some comfort as the Lakers’ primary perimeter defender, though you get the sense he’ll welcome sharing those assignments with Jarred Vanderbilt once he comes back from a heel injury.

Cam Reddish

What they wanted: A shot at a supremely talented player who hadn’t found a niche in the league.

What they’ve gotten: Some good, some bad.

Will it change? This is a tough one. Reddish has received a pretty good look through seven games, even grabbing a couple of fill-in starts. His defense was absolutely critical in a short-handed win against the Clippers, but he also has been plagued by fouls and limited offensive impact. Some good, some not-so-good has been the story for Reddish as a pro and the Lakers are still in the process of getting consistency from him. Once the Lakers get healthier, his role could lessen which would make the consistency even harder to come by.

Jaxson Hayes

What they wanted: A high-wire athlete who could impact the game at the rim on both ends of the court.

What they’ve gotten: A third-string center who hasn’t impacted the game the way he did in the preseason.

Will it change? Hard to say. The big concern for me has been the fouling, with things like the illegal screens and fouls in the paint showing a lack of feel. He seems like a player who needs a lot of reps to figure it out, and if the Lakers are healthy, there’s probably going to be limited reps available. The key will be to keep the assignments simple and get Hayes some easy baskets off of lobs and in transition so he can help win his shifts.

Max Christie

What they wanted: A developing two-way wing.

What they’ve gotten: A young player looking for rhythm.

Will it change? Christie wasn’t in the rotation until the injuries increased in the last week, and he has been uneven since getting playing time. One promising sign, his aggression to the basket against the Heat on Monday. The shot will come around and Christie still has big fans in the organization. But, when judging him, it’s best to remember that he’s still just 20.

Me tube, we tube, YouTube

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Song of the week

“High Plains Drifter” by the Beastie Boys

I’m starting to get back into the rhythms of NBA travel, not knowing what city I’m in, what my room number is or what day of the week it is. But one thing I love on the road is listening to music, and the Beastie Boys’ “Paul’s Boutique” is a classic that I love putting on while I’m walking to the arena or my airplane gate.

In case you missed it

Lakers fall to Heat after Anthony Davis injures his hip

Anthony Davis is ‘going to be fine’: Takeaways from Lakers’ loss to Heat

Short-handed Lakers can’t keep Magic off glass in losing effort

Lakers-Magic takeaways: What went wrong in the loss (plenty)

Injured Rui Hachimura can’t help Lakers. But watch him save Earth on Japanese anime show

LeBron James, Lakers hold off Clippers in overtime to snap 11-game skid in rivalry

Cam Reddish takes defense to heart, and other Laker takeaways from overtime win over Clippers