The Spurs are 1-2 after three games. Wembanyama has found the NBA “difficult” for the third straight time. The Spurs were sloppy on the road in the first half and the experience of the Clippers made them even sloppier. That all was a marked contrast to the overtime victory against the Rockets the other night for the first win of the Wemby era.
An important thing to note that is different for the Victor team compared to the Tim and Dave squads, is the level of quality. David Robinson was drafted after a team was terrible, but stocked up on picks (Sean Elliott) and vets and had a nice little roster ready to compete. The Spurs famously were injured and “tanked” the 1996 season but got Dave and Sean back. The team around Duncan was essentially the same core that reached the Western Conference Final and had the best record in the league. Dave was a couple of seasons removed from an MVP year.
This Wemby squad is … well not the same kind of thing. Devin Vassell just got a new contract but a large number of NBA die-hards don’t even know what he looks like. Keldon Johnson is still figuring out how to be a good defender while bulldogging for 22 points a night. The rest of the cast are journeymen and hopefuls.
They looked it vs a Clippers team with vast experience. Against the Rockets they had home court advantage and it still took some overtime against an Houston squad hoping to try to be good this season.
Unfortunately, this is the kind of night that is required to build an NBA career. When you see guys crying up on stage with the trophy it is because of long seasons, with terrible nights, and ugly losses. Lots of questions and frustrations happen along the way.
The squad is still working on how to incorporate Victor into the game with efficiency. That is, there are more opportunities for easy lobs and tap-ins that are simply missed. Wembanyama is on the hustle diet for points, for the most part. They run a couple of things to get him easy looks for jumpers and things, but for the most part they kind of let him just find points with kick out and tap-ins. It will take some time for him to know where the easy buckets will come and find the rhythm of NBA basketball.
The vets know all the tricks and shortcuts — this is why Grant Williams was so frustrating for Dallas in game one. He got under Wemby, did some flops, and baited the ref for some calls. It’s easy work.
The real efficiency has to come from the Spurs’ vets. DV and Keldon and whoever else have years in this league and should set the tone for the night. A road game? There is no crowd on which to feed. You have to bring a different level of energy and focus — especially against a Clipper squad with decorated vets. Wembanyama is a talent, but he’s not battle-tested in this league.
The good news is there are 79 more games to go.