Coming into the season, many wondered how Christian Wood would adapt to being in the first real winning situation of his career with the Dallas Mavericks. Two games in, things have been nearly perfect, as Wood is putting up star-like numbers alongside Luka Doncic and having a lot of fun doing it.
“I’m just trying to play hard, do the best I can with the role that I’m in. That’s really about it,” said Wood after scoring 25 points in each of his first two games as a Maverick.
“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 (each day) 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.”
Although it’s based on a small sample size that includes a blowout win over the Memphis Grizzlies, Doncic and Wood already rank among the league’s best when it comes to PER (player efficiency rating). Wood is currently second with a PER of 36.2 and Doncic is third with a PER of 34.7. The only player they trail is Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
“I mean, it’s been great,” said Doncic of the early chemistry being established with Wood. “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.”
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If Wood continues to play at this level while coming off the bench, not only will he be the frontrunner for the Sixth Man of the Year award, but he’ll also be an All Star and All NBA player whether he ever becomes a starter or not.
There is still a lot of work to be done, and the Mavs still have a lot of room for improvement despite showing major potential in their first two games. They’ll look to keep their winning momentum going on Tuesday night as they take on the New Orleans Pelicans, who could potentially be playing without their two stars, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
Regardless of who suits up on the other side, though, the Mavs are going to come in with the same attitude… and they’re going to make sure they continue having fun.
“I haven’t really experienced a playoff atmosphere, so today I liked it, I loved it,” said Wood with a big smile after Saturday night’s win. “I don’t know if you could tell, but I was having fun out there.”
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