Dallas Basketball

Christian Wood Among 3 Players Mavs Must Play More, Says NBA Analyst

The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor voiced his opinion on how Mavericks coach Jason Kidd should shake up Dallas' rotation.

Michael Mulford

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Following the acquisition of Kyrie Irving, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd has been toying with the best rotation pattern for the team going forward. 

Since the addition of Irving and the departures of Dorian Finney-Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie, the new-look Mavericks have struggled to find the win column, winning just five of their last 12 games.

One inconsistency in the Mavericks rotation has been Christian Wood, who has seen his minutes fluctuate all over the map this season, which has caught the eye of The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor, who spoke on the matter on the most recent episode of The Mismatch.

"You just have to play your best players, period," O'Connor said. "They're not doing that with Christian Wood. They're not doing that with (Jaden) Hardy. They've had weird minutes fluctuations for Josh Green."

O'Connor has been consistently critical of Kidd and his rotation patterns, specifically with playing Dwight Powell over Wood. 

In an 18-game span from Dec. 14 through Jan. 18, which he started 16 of those games, Wood averaged 20.9 points,9.4 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks in 33.3 minutes per game. In the last 13 games following an eight-game absence due to a thumb injury, Wood has yet to return to the starting lineup, averaging just 13.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in only 19.5 minutes per game.

"Green should play over 30 minutes every single night. Wood should play 30 minutes every night. And Hardy needs to find a way into that rotation to provide some scoring off the bench," O'Connor said. "I feel like there's some ways for Kidd to tweak the rotation to make it better than it's been."

Sure, playing Wood hefty minutes alongside Luka Doncic and Irving makes for a three-headed dud on defense, but Kidd can't just look past the advanced stats, like when Wood appears on the floor with Doncic, Green, and Tim Hardaway Jr., which is +32 per 100 minutes, which is the best in the NBA, per Matt Moore of Action Network.

Whatever the reason may be at the end of the day for Kidd's unwillingness to play Wood the amount of minutes he deserves, Green's inconsistent rotation pattern, or the cobwebs forming on Hardy on the bench, it's time for a quick reset before the postseason gets here.

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Michael Mulford
MICHAEL MULFORD

Michael Mulford is a writer/editor for Dallas Basketball, where he extensively covers the Dallas Mavericks. He also covers the Chicago Bulls as the Managing Editor for Bulls Wire of USA Today Sports Media Group. Mulford grew up in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and graduated from the University of North Texas in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Recreation, Event, and Sports Management. He began his pursuit of sports writing in 2017 with Dallas Sports Fanatic, where he covered the Mavericks’ G League affiliate, Texas Legends. He then became the Managing Editor of Dallas Sports Fanatic just one year later and has covered the Mavericks as a credentialed media member since 2018, including covering numerous playoff games between 2021-22 and covering the team at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas in 2019. In his time covering the Mavericks, Mulford has conducted numerous interviews for exclusive stories including with Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki, former Maverick and current VP of Basketball Ops Michael Finley, former Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson, and more. You can follow and interact with Mulford on Twitter at @TheMulf.

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