Houston Rockets: Three bold predictions for the 2020-2021 season

Christian Wood will average 20 and 10.

After signing with the Philadelphia 76ers as an undrafted free agent in 2015, Christian Wood struggled to cement himself in the NBA. Over the next three years, Wood would bounce from team to team, hoping to become an NBA mainstay, but that wasn’t the case. It wasn’t until last season, when the Detroit Pistons took a chance on him, that Christian Wood found his niche and showed he belonged in the league, and he is here to stay.

Despite being on one of the worst teams in the league, Wood was buried on the depth chart for some odd reason. Until injuries and trades mounted up and forced head coach Dwayne Casey to play him in a larger role, Wood was relegated to a minuscule role off the bench. Despite the sparse playing time (17.3 minutes per game), Wood took advantage of every opportunity and flourished in his bench role, averaging 10.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in the first 47 games of the season.

A season-ending injury to Blake Griffin and Andre Drummond’s trade opened up the door for Wood to really showcase his talent for Detroit. In the 13 games after Drummond packed his bags, Wood would go on to average 22.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.0 blocks in 34.2 minutes per game, all while posting .562/.400/.757 shooting splits during that span. Most impressive was his perimeter shooting as he shot 3-pointers at an elite 40.0 percent clip on 4.2 attempts per game.

Wood’s breakout season was cut short due to the ongoing pandemic, but he displayed enough talent and skill to receive a multi-year contract worth $41 million. Wood is expected to be the starting center for the Rockets when the regular season tips off, after his big payday. Still, he’s yet to appear in a preseason game due to elbow soreness,  but there’s optimism he’ll make his Rockets debut in Thursday’s preseason finale.

It will be tough to replicate those numbers sharing the court with two ball-dominant guards, but at the same time, with opposing defenses keying in on Harden and Wall, Wood should be free to wreak havoc and be the most lethal “third-option” in the entire NBA this season.

He won’t make the All-Star game because it is a popularity contest, and it won’t be easy but averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game is entirely conceivable.