Dallas Basketball

'We're Going to Be a Scary Team': Christian Wood on Playing with Luka Doncic

The growing chemistry between Luka Doncic and Christian Wood has shown glimpses of an unstoppable offensive duo.

Michael Mulford

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Dallas Mavericks forward Christian Wood has found himself a part of a winning culture for the first time in his seven-year career. With that winning culture comes playing alongside the likes of superstar Luka Doncic.

In a recent Q&A with HoopsHype, Wood spoke on playing with Doncic and how the Slovenian superstar has 'opened up the offense' for the Mavericks' newcomer.

"It’s opened up the offense for me a lot. There’s a lot more spacing where I can shoot or make a play off the dribble," Wood said when asked about his connection with Doncic. "They’ve trusted me to make plays off the dribble. I’m just waiting to get more time with him. I think when that happens, we’re going to be a scary team."

A scary team is right, as Wood has made an immediate impact on the Mavericks so far this season. Through four games with Dallas, Wood is averaging 21.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while shooting 61.9 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from 3-point range.

The budding chemistry between Doncic and Wood early on is what Dallas hoped for when the Mavericks acquired Kristaps Porzingis in 2019. Both big men knock down perimeter jumpers at an above-average clip for their size, but Wood's proficiency in the pick-and-roll with Doncic has the potential to blow what No. 77 had with Porzingis out of the water.

"He's an amazing player. He listens to us, he accepts his role. He's just doing amazing stuff out there," Doncic said after Dallas' 41-point victory over the Grizzlies on Oct. 22.

Again, the Mavericks are only four games into the Christian Wood experiment, but the science lab hasn't blown up yet — in fact, the chemistry brewing between Doncic and Wood is looking like the steal of the offseason.

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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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