Getty Christian Wood of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Dallas Mavericks have struggled a lot this season. Just last season, they made an incredible run to the Western Conference Finals, but this year, things just haven’t been the same. And now, they find themselves in the midst of an ugly playoff race out West.
On Wednesday night, the Mavericks dropped their game against the Golden State Warriors. When asked about Jaden Hardy’s performance, Stephen Curry showed love to Christian Wood, noting that the Warriors expected him and Hardy to be Dallas’ X-factors.
“We knew him and Christian were the X-factors for their team,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “If they get going, they’re tough to beat because you know what Luka [Doncic] is going to do. He has the ball in his hands the whole game, and he requires a lot of attention. And as a secondary scorer, Jaden was really efficient. He made some big shots. A couple of threes in the fourth quarter. But obviously, he did it the whole game. He’s talented. He can score. He’s kind of fearless out there. He had a great game.”
Wood played a big role for the Mavericks off the bench in their loss to the Warriors. He finished the game with 19 points, four rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and 0-of-3 shooting from behind the three-point line.
As for Hardy, he also played well for the Mavericks. The youngster ended the night with 27 points, five rebounds, one assist, and one steal on 10-of-18 shooting from the field and 6-of-9 shooting from behind the three-point line.
Luka Doncic Shows Love to Jaden Hardy
Hardy has been earning more opportunities due to the injuries to Kyrie Irving and Doncic as of late. After the Mavericks’ loss to the Warriors, Doncic showed love to Hardy, praising his play.
“He’s going to be a great, great player,” Doncic said of Hardy via the Fanatics View YouTube channel. “He’s already good. Very good. But I think, talking to him, understanding the game, I think sometimes he goes really quick. I just tell him to slow down. But he’s really good. And he listens. He listens to me a lot. So, I think he’s gonna be really, really good.”
Stephen Curry Sounds Off on Luka Doncic
In addition, Curry also had some words for Doncic. The Slovenian superstar is one of the most dominant players in the league right now, and after the game, Curry spoke about how difficult it is to control Doncic.
“I mean, for the most part, we put him on the free throw line too much in the first half. But Luka is interesting,” Curry said via the NBA Interviews YouTube channel. “He’s going to get his numbers because he’s good, first and foremost, but they have a team formed around him that gives him a lot of space, and he’s great at picking and choosing his spots. Whether he’s looking for a shot or putting pressure on you in the paint to kick out to shooters. They made 17 threes off of a lot of his gravity, so you got to live with some of that stuff, and you got to live with him having big numbers because, again, he’s that great, and he has a lot of opportunity.”
