Between Jason Kidd and Christian Wood, it’s blurry love

Christian Wood finds itself in a rather comical situation since the beginning of February. After turning 30 then 34 minutes of playing time on average over the first two months of 2023, the interior saw his playing time drop drastically. Since the All-Star Break, it has dropped below 20 minutes per game, with no reason being found for this sudden shift in Jason Kidd’s rotation.

If the Mavericks technician seems to have struggled since the start of the campaign in the management of the one who was recruited this summer to be the counterpart of Luka Doncic in the interior sector, the choice of Jason Kidd questions all the more that the player n did not suffer from any particular drop in speed.

Given that Dallas, on the other hand, has accumulated defeats (eight out of the last eleven games), Jason Kidd was asked to explain the reasons for this strange turnaround. Apart from the fact that Max Kleber has been back for four games, the former playmaker did not really want to go further in his explanations.

“You have to see the depth we have with all our big boys”, he said in particular. “We try to get them to play and see who has the hot hand. At the moment, with Maxi (Kleber) back, it’s going to reduce some of his minutes, especially when we’re healthy. It’s like that for now. And that may change as we move forward.”

Suffice to say that the situation is complicated for the player. Despite this, Christian Wood manages to maintain his standards in view of his reduced playing time, as in his last match against Memphis with 14 points in… 15 minutes, where Maxi “the warm hand” Kleber returned 4 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists in 26 minutes.

Christian Wood ready to help in any role

What Jason Kidd refuses to discuss is the defensive aspect, where Maxi Kleber is much better than Christian Wood. And for the team which fell to 23rd place defensively this season (against 7th place last season), this is necessarily an important point… which the coach therefore officially refuses to mention.

In a delicate position, Christian Wood admitted that he had not imagined that the season would take such a turn. On the other hand, out of the question for him to let go. It’s one more challenge ahead of him.

“I’m happy to be here, happy to be part of this team. And we’re going to try to have a good run in the playoffs because I think we have a good squad depth. That’s what we’re going to try to do.”he confided. “I would say the playoffs will be important, no matter how many minutes I play. I just have to attack the playoffs with the same state of mind that I had throughout the season. I was the ninth man, the eighth man, the sixth man, I started. So I will just have to embody all the roles that I have occupied until then”.

Now remains to ensure a qualification in the playoffs which remains to date far from certain, Dallas currently displaying the 8th best record in the Western Conference. While waiting for the rest, Christian Wood makes it a point of honor to keep the right state of mind in order to be the best possible on the field. The rest…

“It’s just about me being good at whatever role I’m given. I am grateful for the opportunity given to me. I think throughout the season I’ve been good in every role I’ve played.”he added. “My attitude is to come in and attack, to be aggressive down the stretch. The West is very tight in the standings. We will need everyone. I’m glad Maxi is back. Luka is an important element for us, that’s clear. He is the second highest scorer in the NBA. He will be missed, for sure, and we need his return.