Mavericks big man Christian Wood will face his former team, the Houston Rockets, for the first time when the Texas rivals do battle on Wednesday night in Dallas.
Wood was traded there in June for a package that primarily netted Houston a 2022 first-round draft pick, which was used on Kentucky guard TyTy Washington.
From a Rockets perspective, part of the apparent motivation for the deal was to open playing time for promising second-year center Alperen Sengun. To this point, Sengun has certainly looked worthy of increased minutes: he averages 16.1 points (57.4% FG) and 8.7 rebounds in 26.5 minutes.
Yet, even with those numbers, the Rockets are an NBA worst 2-12. The Mavericks, on the other hand, are 8-5 and again in strong position for an eventual spot in the 2023 playoffs. It helps to have perennial MVP candidate Luka Doncic leading the way, though he’s not expected to play tonight due to maintenance considerations.
With that in mind, if there’s any silver lining for Sengun, Jalen Green and the rest of the Rockets, it’s that Dallas is on night two of a back-to-back after facing the Clippers on Tuesday. The Rockets haven’t played since losing to Los Angeles on Monday.