Los Angeles Lakers vs Washington Wizards

Throughout the past two months Max Christie has demonstrated his ability to support the Los Angeles Lakers stars with his average point total exceeding ten points per game.

The starting five has confirmed his position while he spends over 31 minutes each game this January. The depth of injuries within the Los Angeles basketball team sets the stage for numerous minutes of play by Christie on Thursday.

Multiple key players on the Los Angeles Lakers roster are in doubt to play due to various health issues including LeBron James alongside Anthony Davis and Rui Hachimura as well as Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent.

With Austin Reeves as his only other healthy starter the designation makes Christie responsible for delivering offense in the remaining gaps left by J.J. Reddick's rotation.

When given additional court time Christie uses it to increase his field goal attempts because he shoots approximately nine attempts per game this month. Christie takes on average 5.7 three-pointers throughout the last 13 games while attempting his shots primarily from long distance.

Defense remains Washington Wizards' most compromising issue among their multitude of problems. The team displays the worst defensive capabilities in advanced ranking and shows poor perimeter defense.

Washington stands as the team that allows the most three-point field goal attempts in the league with 14.5 per game this season since opponents are making 15 shots from distance at a 37.4% success rate this month.

When Christie played against the Wizards on Jan. 21 he made only one 3-point shot among his five attempts but managed only five points during his 31-minute game. After Tuesday's loss to the Philadelphia 76ers he made just three points from his three shots.

The LA Lakers' last game ended in defeat. They lost to the Philadelphia 76ers 118-104 at Wells Fargo Center while traveling. Austin Reaves scored 13 points, Dalton Knecht scored 24, and LeBron James scored 31.

In their last fifteen games, the Washington Wizards have suffered defeats. The Toronto Raptors defeated them 106-82 in a recent home game at Capital One Arena. Kyshawn George scored 10 points and Justin Champagnie scored 12, while Kyle Kuzma finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

In their most recent meeting, the Lakers prevailed. enjoying a victory over the Wizards at Crypto.com Arena, 111-88. The Lakers have defeated the Wizards five times in a row. In the last ten head-to-head meetings, they have won seven of them.