Christian Wood Is Learning To Play Winning Basketball With The Dallas Mavericks

Since joining the Dallas Mavericks, Christian Wood has shown why the front office traded for him. He has consistently been the team’s second or third-best scorer on any given night and is an anchor on the second unit.

While he believes he can start, head coach Jason Kidd insists that Wood be a staple off the bench as the team’s sixth man. This may not be the role he envisions for himself, but Wood has been professional about it, working to improve and gaining the trust of his coach and teammates.

“I think that you can see that he’s comfortable playing his role,” Kidd said. “He’s doing a great job for us on both ends, offense and defense. Just understanding that we’re trying to get the ball offensively because he is a talent. The nice part about that is he’s really unselfish, and he’s looking to make the right play, and he’s doing that at a high level for us right now. And we need that.”

Wood is coming off his best game of the season Friday night. He scored a season-high 28 points on 11-16 shooting, helping the Mavericks notch a 127-99 win over the injury-plagued Denver Nuggets. He also grabbed eight rebounds in the effort.

This season, Wood is averaging 17.5 points and 7.7 rebounds while shooting 57.1% overall and 43.2% from deep. Since returning from a knee injury on November 12 that sidelined him for two games, Wood is averaging 22 points, seven rebounds and 1.3 assists while shooting 57.9% from the floor.

Wood is also a key figure in some of the Mavericks’ most successful lineups. Kidd has played seven five-man lineups for at least 20 minutes this season. Four of those feature Wood. The most successful lineup is that of Luka Doncic, Tim Hardaway Jr., Josh Green, Wood and Maxi Kleber. It has a net rating of plus-33.2 in 41 minutes.

Even as Wood continues to contribute to the Mavericks’ success, there are still areas in which he can improve. This is the first time he is playing for a winning organization. Teammate JaVale McGee, who recently lost his job as Dallas’ starting center, says that Wood is still learning to adapt to the Mavericks’ winning culture and mentality.

“Christian is just trying to play winning basketball,” McGee told reporters. “Like you said, this is his first team that’s slotted to make the playoffs and go far in the playoffs. So, he had some moments where he reverses back to playing, I don’t want to say losing basketball, but not winning basketball.

“He’s extremely professional. He works every day, and he’s a scorer. He can score that thang. It’s really impressive just seeing his growth. Seeing him figure out, not his role, because his role is clearly to score, but how to get his shots, positions and how to also get his other teammates involved.”