Victor Wembanyama scored only six points in the second half of the San Antonio Spurs' 116-93 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. The thing is, he scored 20 in the game's first half. Asked afterward what may have caused the difference in production, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich put Wemby's night in perspective with a David Robinson story.
“It's hard. You're sort of treating him like I used to treat David,” the Hall of Fame coach said of former Spur and fellow Hall of Famer David Robinson. “I'd say ‘David, you've got to… come on.' He [Wembanyama] had 26 points, he had nine rebounds, and three blocks. And you're bi***ing at him. Come on. In 27 minutes.”
The generational prospect's point total was just one less than his effort on Monday and he totaled the same number of assists with five. But with 14 rebounds and 10 blocks in that win at the Toronto Raptors, Wembanyama was coming off the first triple-double that included blocks by a rookie since the aforementioned Robinson did it in 1990.
The difference in Victor Wembanyama's second half
For Wemby's part, his struggles were indicative of the Spurs' bigger picture in the 116-93 blowout in Dallas.
“We had a decent lead in the first. We were down at the half. Shot-making wasn't good tonight. It happens,” the top pick in last summer's draft said, alluding to a 15-point San Antonio lead early on.
“Against these types of players, Luka and Kyrie, we know we're not going to stop every single possession they have so we have to be relentless and apply the scouting report every single possession. Every one of the shots they'll make. And the turnovers they'll make is a small win and we need all of them. We need as much as we can,” Wembanyama continued.
“I saw a lot of good things but shot-making wasn't one of them,” Popovich added. “In today's league, you can't be 10 for 40 [on three-pointers] and have a decent chance to win a game for sure. It's a lot of defensive transition, that sort of thing but I thought we took great shots. You have no problem with c0ntested shots or anything like that. That's not what they were, they were wide-a** open.”
“We didn't make any of them,” the longest-tenured coach in the NBA continued. “That's going to put you in a hole. On top of that, I thought Luka and Kyrie played like Hall of Fame players. They were fantastic. They were really really something. We couldn't do anything with them.”
“I saw a lot of things from the young guys that we can build on,” Popovich concluded. “Just have to keep on shooting the shots. They don't go in if you don't shoot them so that just makes it a tough night.”
Wemby's continued impact on the Spurs
Following the game, the 7-foot-4 marvel was told that Mavericks players talked about how he blocked shots they didn't expect him to. He was asked whether opponents tell him that directly.
“Yeah, all the time. Sometimes during the game and sometimes after. Yeah, it happens,” Wemby said. “On the other hand, there's guys also who do stuff that seems impossible sometimes.”
Wembanyama now gets set for his first All-Star weekend experience. He'll headline Friday's Rising Stars game in Indianapolis, Indiana.
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