Houston Rockets: 3 reason why Christian Wood is an All-Star snub

Houston Rockets: Christian Wood All-Star snub reason #1: His peers are in the All-Star game

The 2021 NBA All-Star rosters have a grand total of eight front-court players, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, Julius Randle, Rudy Gobert, Zion Williamson, and Nikola Vucevic, who can be reasonably compared to Christian Wood in terms of their role. Taking this group’s per game, per 36 minutes, and per 100 possessions stats, you’ll find that Christian Wood should be the ninth man in this group.

Front Court All-Star 8 Amalgam

         Per game         Per 36 minutes       Per 100 Poss. Rating 

 Pts   Rebs  Blks      Pts   Rebs   Blks              Off       Def

24.3  10.7   1.2       26.6   11.5   1.3            121.3   106.4

Christian Wood

   Per game              Per 36 minutes       Per 100 Poss. Rating 

Pts  Rebs Blks       Pts    Rebs  Blks            Off    Def

22   10.2   1.5       25.4   11.8   1.8             116   105

While Wood lags behind this group ever so slightly in scoring, he has been better at grabbing boards and swatting shots. Remember, this group includes two MVP favorites in Embiid and Jokic, the reigning back-to-back MVP winner in Antetokounmpo, and a two-time Defensive Player of the year winner Rudy Gobert. If you remove those four players and compare Wood to the likes of Anthony Davis, Julius Randle, Zion Williamson, and Nikola Vucevic, all fantastic players in their own right, then his case for being an All-Star becomes iron clad.

Front Court All-Star bottom 4 Amalgam

      Per Game        Per 36 minutes Per  100 Poss. Rating 

Pts   Rebs   Blks     Pts  Rebs Blks            Off     Def

23.7   9.5   0.9       25.1   10   0.9              118   108

Wood’s statistical profile and impact on winning might not be as great as Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, or Rudy Gobert but that cannot be said about the others. It’s unfortunate, but the Rockets’ eight-game losing streak without Wood has hurt his All-Star case when it really should have bolstered it.

Wood’s case for being an All-Star is everywhere you look. He turns a bad team into a good team. He produces on the court at a high level. His closest peers are all All-Stars. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to solve this mystery, it’s elementary, Christian Wood is an All-Star snub.