NBA Power Rankings: Mavs Moving Back With Christian Wood Out?

Christian Wood's thumb injury could have a massive effect on the Dallas Mavericks.

Jeremy Brener | Jan 24, 2023

The Dallas Mavericks face some uncertainty coming up with Christian Wood (thumb) sidelined.

Wood has been relatively healthy all season long, missing just four games before this recent injury. The Mavs are 1-3 in games without Wood before the stretch, and are now 2-4 after splitting the first two meetings with him out.

Despite Wood's absence, the Mavericks remain at No. 11 in this week's power rankings from Sports Illustrated.

"Dallas has struggled mightily this month and now Christian Wood, its second-best player, is out," SI writes. "The Mavericks lost to the Hawks on Wednesday by eight, which was the game in which Wood fractured his thumb. They rebounded a few nights later and beat the Heat by 15 behind 34 points from Luka Dončić. Dallas managed just 98 points in a double-digit loss to the Clippers on Sunday. The Mavs have an easy-enough schedule ahead against the Wizards, Suns and Jazz."

The Mavs are in the hustle and bustle in the Western Conference standings, sitting in fifth place at 25-23. However, if the team struggles with Wood out, the Mavs could crumble and fall back out of the playoff picture. The 13th-place Portland Trail Blazers are just 2.5 games back of the Mavs, making these upcoming games that more crucial.

Tonight, the Mavs face the Washington Wizards, fresh after the Rui Hachimura trade, at home. Then, the team travels to face the Phoenix Suns (Thu.) and Utah Jazz (Sat.).

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Published Jan 24, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.