Christian Wood has proven time and time again that he is a certified bucket-getter. He has proven this with the certificate hanging in his locker that says “The University of Nevada – Las Vegas has conferred upon Christian Wood the degree of Bachelor of Science in Bucket Getting”. He has it framed and everything, it’s real fancy, and it should do a lot to convince his coaches of his skill in the art of scoring. Of course, the skill required in the bucket-getting that goes on in college is a far cry from the skill required in NBA bucket-getting, so I wouldn’t expect that degree to mean much.
But it’s not like he only has credentials on paper. He has gone out and, repeatedly, against NBA players playing NBA-level defense, gotten major amounts of buckets. The proof is there in all the highlight videos I made for him (the ones from his rookie and sophomore seasons are deleted, but trust that they were bucket-laden despite their short runtime), if anyone is doubting me.
For some reason, the Pistons coaching staff (led by known dumb-butt Dwane Casey) is reluctant to give Wood the minutes he deserves. There was even a game, the second one this season, where he got a DNP while Thon Maker played almost 20 minutes. That should never happen. I can’t figure out a single reason why Maker should be playing even a second over Wood. Here’s what Wood can do that Maker can’t:
-Jump without needing five seconds of prep
-Catch a ball thrown to him instead of just letting it hit his hands and going from there
-Play defense in a non-spastic manner
-Reliably grab rebounds
-Do Eurosteps as well as other moves that Giannis tried to teach both of them but only Wood could execute
I could go on and on, but I won’t, because when I think about Maker I get all sad about how the Bucks wasted that pick (although I also get sad when I think about Wood because the Bucks had him and MARGINALIZED the FRICK out of him). And this description isn’t about Maker anyway. He didn’t even play this game. This description is about Wood, and how much of a beast he is scoring the ball. We saw this kind of thing last year when he was with the Pelicans, and hopefully we’ll see more of it now that no one can deny his scoring prowess. Honestly, I’m looking at this, and I’m looking at Andre Drummond’s scoring “ability”, and I’m thinking some weird thoughts.
Enough words. Just watch this video.