Christian Wood is Playing His Best Basketball & Mavs Are Reaping Benefits
Christian Wood was already having a solid season for the Dallas Mavericks even before he was inserted into the starting lineup next to Luka Doncic, but the promotion has taken things to the next level.
In the four games Wood has started with Doncic, he's averaging 16.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.5 blocks and 1.3 steals while shooting 50 percent from the field. His most recent performance was his best of the season and possibly the best of his career, as he poured in 30 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, four steals and two blocks in the Mavs' Christmas Day win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
Wood's offense has always been a factor, but his defense has picked up lately, and coach Jason Kidd believes that's mainly due to him having enough time to finally get comfortable.
“Just reps, being comfortable,” Kidd said. “We talked about that with Reggie (Bullock) last year getting his feet underneath him, shooting the ball. Any time a trade happens, it’s just not the analytics. It’s not a computer game. He’s human. A human athlete has to perform, has to make the adjustments.
“As much as we want trades to happen and for them to be successful overnight, it just takes time. It’s December 25, it’s Christmas. [Wood is] starting to get comfortable and his teammates are getting comfortable with him. Now it’s just a matter of building on the foundation that we’ve built.”
Another human element at play is the fact that Wood is in the starting role he's wanted since the first day of training camp. Naturally, a guy's play is going to experience an uptick if he's earned a promotion ... especially when considering he's in the final year of his current contract and looking for a big payday.
“I feel like I’ve been having a great season so far," said Wood. "I feel like I’ve been playing great in every role that’s been given to me. ... We were missing our defensive anchor, Maxi (Kleber). Those guys trust me to make plays defensively and I feel like my defense has picked up these last few weeks.”
It's not a coincidence that Wood's improved defense has resulted in the Mavs stringing together multiple wins for the first time since the first week of December. Dallas is on a three-game win steak heading into Tuesday's game against Jalen Brunson's New York Knicks. If Wood keeps this up, he'll get that next big contract whether it's from the Mavs or another team.
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