Getty Christian Wood of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Dallas Mavericks have been struggling mightily as of late. With Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving both out, the rest of the team has been forced to step up in their absence. And on Tuesday night, they barely scraped by with an overtime win over the San Antonio Spurs.
It was a true team effort for the Mavericks, as five different players scored 20 or more points. In overtime, Christian Wood was drawing a ton of attention, and after the game, Mavericks wing Josh Green spoke about it and how Dallas continued to use it to their advantage.
“I mean, if something’s working, I’m not going to complain,” Green said via the Fanatics View YouTube channel. “It’s just that simple. If they can’t guard a certain thing, you keep going back to it. And if it’s working, it’s working. Anything. No matter when it is in the game, first quarter or overtime.”
Wood did not get the start against the Spurs, but he played 28:20 and led the Mavericks in scoring. The big man ended the night with 28 points, 13 rebounds, and three assists on 8-of-17 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 shooting from behind the three-point line. He also went 10-of-11 from the free-throw line.
As for Green, he also played very well. He ended up playing big-time minutes against San Antonio, playing 45:16 (second on the team behind Reggie Bullock). Green finished the game with 21 points, three rebounds, seven assists, and one steal on 9-of-18 shooting from the floor and 2-of-5 shooting from beyond the three-point arc.
Jason Kidd Sounds Off on Christian Wood’s Minutes
Despite how well he has played this year, Wood has struggled to earn consistent minutes in the Mavericks’ rotation and has failed to maintain a spot in the starting lineup. After the team’s recent loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, head coach Jason Kidd spoke about Wood’s minutes and the team’s big man depth.
“You look at just the depth that we have with all the bigs, we’re trying to get them in the game and see who has the hot hand, and right now, with Maxi [Kleber] back, that’s going to cut some of his minutes down, especially when we’re healthy. That’s just the way it is right now, and it can change as we go forward,” Kidd said via Grant Afseth of DallasBasketball.com.
Josh Green Urges Mavericks to Step Up
With Doncic and Irving on the sidelines, the rest of the squad will have to step up, and Green made sure the team knew that after their loss to the Grizzlies.
“I mean, it’s a lot different,” Green said via the Mavericks’ official YouTube channel. “Two of the best players in the world not on the court, you definitely feel that. But it’s up to us. We shouldn’t have to rely on them. We should be coming out there and giving them energy and showing that we have their back and that, when they’re back out there, they can trust us and that we can do stuff. So, for us, it’s about, whether they play or whether they don’t play, at the end of the day, we have one thing in mind, and that’s to win the game. So, obviously, the game plan changes without having them, but whether they’re in there or whether they’re out, from a player standpoint, we’re looking at just winning. So, obviously, stuff changes, but we still have one outcome.”