Subscribe
Follow Us
It has been a brutal road for the Houston Rockets this season, and that's putting it lightly. Less than a year ago they had Russell Westbrook and James Harden and the intent to keep those two in Houston and try to make a legitimate push in the Western Conference. Fast forward to now and Westbrook is on the Wizards, Harden is in Brooklyn, P.J. Tucker was recently traded to Milwaukee, and the Rockets just won for the first time in 20 games. Despite the lows, one overriding positive has been Christian Wood. John Wall has taken notice of Wood's demeanor and play.
John Wall says Christian Wood has take on an increased leadership role since returning from injury: "He's more vocal than ever since he first got here."
— Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) March 23, 2021
Wood was a coveted piece this past offseason before coming to Houston on a sign-and-trade that netted him a 3-year deal worth $41 million with the Rockets. With Harden and Westbrook both gone, it appears Wood has taken it upon himself to become one of the vocal leaders on a sputtering Houston team.
In the win to snap the 20-game losing streak, Wood had 19 points and 4 rebounds in 28 minutes. The win came with a massive sigh of relief for everyone, including head coach Stephen Silas, who Wood admires.
I asked Christian Wood about his relationship with Stephen Silas: "I came here for him."
He talked about how he would never want his coach to ever feel like Silas did postgame on Sunday.
— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) March 23, 2021
That is quite the endorsement for the first-year head coach and it seems like Wood isn't alone in that thought. Many felt for Silas after the Rockets had lost their 20th game in a row and this was how Silas looked afterward:
This is how Stephen Silas' press conference started. The dejection this man is feeling is off the charts and its hard to watch pic.twitter.com/nIrdkxQYDo
— Adam Spolane (@AdamSpolane) March 21, 2021
You can feel the pain and the genuine nature in the reaction by Silas. His fellow coaching peers reached out to him in a major way.
Via Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle:
Stephen Silas said in the last 24 hours he heard from Doc Rivers, Steve Kerr, Luke Walton, Doug Collins, Don Nelson about their losing streaks and their offers and support.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) March 22, 2021
If the Rockets are to turn this thing back around in the coming years, Wood is expected to be a big reason why. Seeing him become more of a vocal leader for the team is a sign pointing in the right direction for Houston.
