Christian Wood Trade Paying Major Early Dividends for Mavs
The Dallas Mavericks hold high hopes for what Christian Wood can achieve alongside Luka Doncic and as a focal point of the bench. In each of the team's initial two games of the 2022-23 season, he's accomplished both.
In Wood's first appearance with the Mavs, he recorded 25 points and eight rebounds against the Phoenix Suns on opening night, which featured a stretch where he scored 16 straight points. He followed that up with 25 points and 12 rebounds against the Memphis Grizzlies in his first game in front of the home crowd.
Wood has scored 50 points and 20 rebounds in 49 total minutes of action. He became the first player in Mavs history to score at least 25 points in each of his initial two performances with the organization. He's thrived in his bench role and has been taking pride in contributing wherever possible.
“I’m just trying to play hard and do the best I can in the role that I’m in, and that’s really about it,” he said. “I’m motivated coming off the bench or starting – either way. I’ve said that before.
“This team trusts me and their trust is even getting better with me in terms of offensively and defensively. Today I was mismatched with a guard and I was guarding Steven Adams. It was a bunch of mismatches defensively, and they were trusting me, so it was getting better.”
For now, Wood's bench role affords the Mavs a focal point to run their offense through when Luka Doncic is not on the court. With plug-and-play lineup often featuring Wood, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Tim Hardaway Jr., there's a lot of talent for opposing bench units to have to guard.
"It's great," Kidd said. "When you look at the scoring, he's someone that comes off the bench that gives us depth there with him and Timmy [Hardaway Jr.] being able to score the ball. I thought, again, he took great shots. But on the defensive end, I thought he did a great job for us."
Wood has thrived when playing alongside Doncic. In the 31 minutes they have shared the floor, the results have been a 147.6 offensive rating and a 32.0 net rating. The synergy is impressive between the two. Wood can do it all as a threat attacking off the catch, thrives as an interior play finisher, and is an isolation and post-up scoring threat.
“I mean, it’s been great," Doncic said. "He’s an amazing player, he listens to us, he accepts his role. He’s just doing amazing stuff out there. It’s only been two games, but he’s going to be very good for us.”
Wood is having a lot of fun being on the receiving end of Doncic's passing as opposed to having to try to defend him. By being Doncic's teammate, Wood has a greater appreciation for the impact the three-time All-NBA First-Team guard makes.
“Fun, I mean, he does some things," Wood said. "Last year playing against him … it’s incredible. I don’t even know what to talk about. The things he does on the offensive end, the passes he makes, how he gets everybody set up, it’s amazing.”
While much attention has been justifiably placed on Wood's offensive impact, the Mavs have not allowed his contributions to go unnoticed on the boards and on defense. The attention to detail with the coaching staff has been visible.
“For him to be able to rebound for us and then also be able to switch on different assignments, he’s shown the growth on the defensive end,” Kidd said. “He’s working extremely hard on both offense, but also defense. He’s spending a lot of time with our coaches.”
As Wood continues to get acclimated with the Mavs, there's plenty of potential for increased workload and more minutes alongside Doncic. As the two big chemistry together, there's a lot to like about their potential. Being able to succeed on a winning team is something that Wood appreciates.
“I haven’t really experienced a playoff atmosphere, so today I liked it, I loved it,” he said. “I don’t know if you could tell, but I was having fun out there.”
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