Should the Dallas Mavericks start Christian Wood after 2 stellar games?

Should Christian Wood close games for the Dallas Mavericks?

Who closes games is much more important than starting. The Mavs want their best players on the floor in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. It is difficult to get Wood out there for the final five minutes with the way Kidd is currently running the rotation.

Dallas wants Christian Wood and Spencer Dinwiddie to both be on the floor whenever Luka Doncic needs a rest. Having their second and third-best scorers in the game keeps the team’s offense afloat.

Number 77 rests for roughly the first six minutes of the second and fourth quarters, and Dallas wants Wood on the floor for those 12 minutes. If they sub him in at the midway mark of the first quarter, that means C-Wood has played 12 consecutive minutes by the time Luka comes back. They could give him a short rest, but he likely needs at least two to three minutes before returning to the game.

Head coach Jason Kidd will figure out a way to maximize Wood’s minutes in crunch time, but fans have seen how special the team’s rotation can be already. Christian Wood will be in the running for Sixth Man of the Year if he keeps coming off the bench and dominating in his current role. The Dallas Mavericks have plenty of firepower to open the game, and they just dominated the team that had the second-best regular season record in the West last season.

Christian Wood should be playing more minutes. Everyone can agree on that, but why hasn’t he been on the floor more?