Coming off a sensational debut with 27 points and 10 rebounds in just 24 minutes during Houston’s final exhibition game, new Rockets center Christian Wood says he and his teammates are ready for the 2020-21 regular season, which begins Wednesday night at Toyota Center.
Most notably, the 6-foot-10 big man thinks he could get even better, as he continues to get more repetitions with veteran guards James Harden and John Wall. Here’s what Wood said after Tuesday’s practice:
I think playing with those two, they’re gonna make me a star. Through practices and one preseason game, we felt the chemistry between each other. We haven’t even had a full season together. The sky’s the limit for us.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAZ3l4EG1FE
Head coach Stephen Silas also shared optimism regarding his 25-year-old center, who missed much of the start of training camp due to a sore left elbow. But Wood was medically cleared a week ago, and since then, his chemistry with Houston’s All-Star guards seems to have grown.
It’s been really good. I mean, he’s so versatile, and to have players that can draw attention away from him? Now he’s attacking closeouts, or they draw a second defender, which happens to be his defender, and now he can play to his strengths.
It’s going to be an ongoing process that’ll probably have a little bit of ups and downs in it, because stuff like that doesn’t usually just start good and stay good. There’s usually some bumps in the road along the way. But we have the tools to allow him to kind of do his thing, and when he’s doing his thing at a high level, it’s good for everybody.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvKslkfbWtA
The Rockets hope to see even more growth from Wood once the regular season begins. Wednesday’s tipoff between Houston and Oklahoma City is set for 7:00 p.m. Central, with the game shown regionally on AT&T SportsNet Southwest and nationally on NBA League Pass.
[lawrence-related id=42206,42022]
https://embed.sendtonews.com/oembed/?SC=y4jg5GQZgK-1076941-7498&format=json&offsetx=0&offsety=0&floatwidth=400&floatposition=bottom-right&float=on