Wood is good, and has all star potential but to even try and say that he can compare to Dream is a bit much.
I guess we are getting to that point where many people were too young to remember watching Hakeem/Akeem. Whatever you kids think you saw in youtube highlight videos about Hakeem - know that he was even better than that. Greatest, most skilled center of all time - he could literally do it all - get a block or steal when the team needed it, hit the outlet guy with precision, get the ball back in the post and find the open man with a perfect pass when the double came, get the bricked shot that resulted from it, face up his defender to make a quick move and use his elite footwork to dance around 3 defenders in the paint to softly lay the ball in at the rim. His prime when he pulled it all together was relatively short but at his peak he was the greatest big man of all time - great enough to absolutely whoop Shaq in a series when he was physically destroying everyone else in the league...great enough to embarrass David Robinson in playoffs the year that he won the MVP....great enough that no one is even mad that Houston took Olajuwon over Jordan in the draft. Christian Wood aint him...
He needs to work on his D. For some reason he doesn’t like to step up from under the basket and is too deep to cover penetrating guards or bigs in the paint. The other night Buddy Heil drove off a PNR and all Wood needed to do was take one step outside the charging restricted area but he didn’t resulting in a layup. He also doesn’t jump picks or hedge meaning he doesn’t jump out to stop the guard from driving then recover to cover the big. AD did this in last years playoffs a log against the heat guards. Not sure if he was coached this way. He just allows guards too much room to operate off the PNR. Lastly he needs to build strength and push bigs out the paint. Jokic, nurkic, and bagley owned him in the paint. We miss Capella’s post D.
If he was rated NBA 2k standards he would get an overall 60 in defense. Man needs to be more aware but good news is this can all be fixed with coaching, physical training to work on lateral movement and an open mind on his end.
There will never be a Hakeem Olajuwon or James Harden. Both of their Footwork and Skills in Dribbling and Speed. The talent they are is Once in a Lifetime. Hakeem and Harden aren't Rare, They are both Once in a Lifetime Player.
