Mavericks big man Christian Wood will face his former team, the Houston Rockets, for the first time when the Texas rivals do battle on Wednesday night in Dallas. Wood was traded there in June for a package that primarily netted Houston a 2022 first-round draft pick, which was used on Kentucky guard TyTy Washington.

From a Rockets perspective, part of the apparent motivation for the deal was to open up more playing time for promising second-year center Alperen Sengun. To this point, Sengun has certainly looked worthy of increased minutes, as evidenced by his averages of 16.1 points (57.4% FG) and 8.7 rebounds in 26.5 minutes.

Yet, even with those gaudy numbers, the Rockets are an NBA worst 2-12 as a team. The Mavericks, on the other hand, are 8-5 and again in strong position for an eventual spot in the 2023 playoffs. It helps to have perennial MVP candidate Luka Doncic leading the way.

If there’s any silver lining for Sengun, Jalen Green, and the rest of the Rockets, it could be that Dallas will be on night two of a back-to-back after facing the Clippers on Tuesday. The Rockets, on the other hand, haven’t played since losing to Los Angeles on Monday.

When and How to Watch

Probable starting lineups

Houston Rockets (2-12)

Dallas Mavericks (8-5)

Projected lineups are based on each team’s most recent game. Wood has primarily come off the bench for Dallas this season.

Injury reports

Houston’s latest injury report lists Jae’Sean Tate out (right ankle soreness) and Bruno Fernando (left knee soreness) as out.

Dallas will not issue its official injury report until a few hours before tipoff, since they are on night two of a back-to-back. In Tuesday’s home win over the Los Angeles Clippers, they were without Davis Bertans (right knee effusion).