As losses mount, Christian Wood vows that Rockets will get back on track

After Thursday’s road loss at Indiana, Houston has now lost seven of nine games following a recent seven-game winning streak. But big man Christian Wood vows that the Rockets will soon get “back on track.”

“I love it in Houston,” Wood vowed as part of the tweet. The 26-year-old had 22 points and 8 rebounds on Thursday night in Indiana.

The reasons for potential optimism are two-fold. First, there are some extenuating circumstances to Houston’s predicament. They are currently wrapping up a nine-game stretch with eight on the road, and the lone home game was on the second night of a back-to-back (and without Wood due to injury). The Rockets (10-23) will then have a stretch with five of their next seven games at home in Houston’s Toyota Center.

Second, until Thursday, the entire run had come without prized rookie Jalen Green, who missed nearly a month with a hamstring injury. Green returned Thursday and scored 20 points in only 25 minutes, owing to a minutes limitation, including 6-of-9 on 3-pointers (66.7%). Moving forward, Wood and Green would seem to be Houston’s top duo.

“I’m happy to have him back,” Wood said of Green on Thursday night. “He played great tonight. He had the hot hand.”

As for Wood, the big man continues to contribute at a high rate on offense, scoring 20 or more points in eight of his last 10 games. In his last five games, Wood is 28-of-38 on free throws (73.7%), which was a clear weakness for him early in the 2021-22 season. Like most of the Rockets, he needs to improve defensively, but perhaps a friendlier scheduling stretch — and the presence of Green to help shoulder the heavy load on offense — will help facilitate that growth on the other end.

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