With just over a quarter of the 2021-22 regular season left, one player is looking to show his team that he is worthy of a major contract extension and becoming a cornerstone of the rebuilding process.
Houston Rockets center Christian Wood knows that his team is effectively eliminated from playoff contention, but that will not stop him from going out and playing hard for the Rockets remaining 24 games.
“Try to bring it every game, and try to win each and every game as good as I can and as best that I can,” Wood says of his focus.
Wood, 26, has two years remaining on his contract, which gives the team more time to evaluate if he is in the long-term plans. Rookie Alperen Sengun is improving each time out on the floor and could be a viable replacement if the team decides to move on from Wood, who is averaging a double-double on the season with 17.5 points and 10.2 rebounds.
Rockets center Christian Wood talks about the last 24 games of the Rockets 2021-22 season. #Rockets #LightTheFuse #Sarge pic.twitter.com/RF6M8Df4O1
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) February 24, 2022
Houston received a lot of offers for Wood at the Feb. 10 trade deadline, but none were enough for the Rockets to deal away their leading scorer, rebounder, and shot blocker. Wood hopes that he and the team will have the mental fortitude to keep improving as the season winds down.
“It’s a big learning process to figure out how to win games,” Wood said after practice on Wednesday night at Toyota Center. “The most important thing is to win as many games as possible.”
The Rockets (15-43) will be back in action on Friday as they face the Magic (13-47) at the Amway Center in Orlando.
