The Los Angeles Lakers’ big positional weakness this season, as well as last season, is viable, productive depth at both forward spots.
Whenever LeBron James goes to the bench, this weakness is especially pronounced because Los Angeles has no one who is an effective 3-point shooter or standout defender at the 3 and 4.
Lately, the situation has been even worse.
Juan Toscano-Anderson sprained his ankle last week and is expected to miss at least two weeks. He has barely played this season, so it is difficult to gauge his true value at this point.
Wenyen Gabriel, the team’s only true power forward besides Anthony Davis, has been out with a shoulder injury for the last five games.
But it looks like there is a good chance he will return on Friday versus the Denver Nuggets.
Lost in the shuffle of all the trade talk was that @ChrisBHaynes reported yesterday that Wenyen Gabriel is on pace to return tomorrow night against the Nuggets.#Lakers have missed him the last few games while he's dealt with a shoulder injury.
— Daniel Starkand (@DStarkand) December 15, 2022
Gabriel lacks offensive basketball skills, but he plays about as hard and aggressively as anyone, which allows him to attract easy baskets and a good number of rebounds.
At the very least, he is a serviceable stopgap solution at the 4 until the Lakers swing a trade for a better option.
