Why Christian Wood does not play more for the Dallas Mavericks

Why Dallas Mavericks aren’t playing Christian Wood more: 2. Trust

The coaching staff reached the conference finals with Dwight Powell starting and Maxi Kleber playing the majority of the minutes at the five. Head coach Jason Kidd and his staff trust those two big men to execute the game plan and put the Mavericks in a position to win by playing their roles.

JaVale McGee earned Kidd’s trust in their two years together with the Lakers, and the head coach knows Davis Bertans can get hot from long range and change the game. He trusts the Mavericks' other big men to play their roles and execute.

That same level of trust is not there with Christian Wood because it is their first time working together. Fans want the 6’10 big man starting and playing in the closing lineup, but the one-time coach Kidd tried to have Wood finish the game, things did not go well. Dallas blew a massive lead and lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder. There was also plenty of talk about drama brewing between C-Wood and Kidd after that loss.

Wood’s reputation around the league is not the greatest, but he has said and done all the right things since arriving in Dallas. He is trying to earn the coaching staff’s trust, but it just has not happened yet. Christian Wood can accomplish it by continuing to put up numbers and making all the right plays on both ends of the floor.