Luka Doncic Praises Mavs Teammate Christian Wood: 'We Gotta Feed Him the Ball More'
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Although most of the spotlight from the Dallas Mavericks' 103-100 win over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night went to Luka Doncic, who joined Wilt Chamberlain on an exclusive scoring list, versatile big man Christian Wood had himself a heck of a game as well.
Fresh off signing a new shoe deal with Adidas, Wood put up 21 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench while shooting 10-15 from the field. Through seven games, Wood is averaging 17.3 points and 8.4 rebounds on 58.9 percent shooting from the field, including 47.8 percent from beyond the arc in 25.5 minutes.
Wood's play off the bench thus far has him firmly in the Sixth Man of the Year race, but Doncic knows the Mavs could benefit from utilizing him more going forward.
"He's an amazing player," Doncic said of Wood after the win. "I told him last game we gotta use him more, and that's on me. I think we used him a lot more in this game (against the Jazz). He shows what he can do. He was amazing today, and we just gotta feed him the ball more."
Although Wood only shot 1-5 on 3s against the Jazz, he was an incredibly-efficient 9-10 on two-point shots. He had a handful of hustle plays as well – one where he went coast-to-coast in transition that concluded with dunk off a euro-step, and the other where he ended up with a one-handed, put-back jam after a Tim Hardaway Jr. missed 3-pointer.
"It's been great, man," said Wood in his postgame interview with Bally Sports Southwest. "The team's been showing me love ... Luka's been showing me love. He made an emphasis today to try to get me the ball more, so it's amazing, man. I love playing with these guys."
When it comes to the Mavs' best five-man lineups this season, Wood is featured in five of the top seven lineups according to net rating. He's also a part of the the two lineups that have the best defensive ratings on the team as well.
As this season progresses, so should Wood's role. Not only will that a good thing for him personally, given that he's in a contract year, but it'll also be good for the Mavs as well as they try to solidify themselves as a championship contender.
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