Wembanyama, I'm concerned (Part 2)

[Optms]

What a freak of nature! 6/9 from downtown and a great stat line of 38 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks.

38 points
12 rebounds
5 assists
5 blocks
6 3's
10/10 FTs

You literally cannot find anyone in history with slash lines like this. Best player in the game doing GOAT level stuff.

[doogie_hauser]

What a freak of nature! 6/9 from downtown and a great stat line of 38 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks.

38 points
12 rebounds
5 assists
5 blocks
6 3's
10/10 FTs

You literally cannot find anyone in history with slash lines like this. Best player in the game doing GOAT
level stuff.

Coming back from a serious blood clot condition that caused him to miss the 2nd half of last season too, makes it all the more remarkable too.

Wouldn't surprise me if teams raise home game ticket prices for when Wemby and The Spurs come to town, like everyone did for Prime MJ and The Bulls.

I swear San Antonio fans are the most blessed in the 21st Century ...

[Ballings7]

What a freak of nature! 6/9 from downtown and a great stat line of 38 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks.

38 points
12 rebounds
5 assists
5 blocks
6 3's
10/10 FTs

You literally cannot find anyone in history with slash lines like this. Best player in the game doing GOAT level stuff.

Watch on YouTube

Wemby just gonna dance on everyone ..

Incredible game tonight against a scrappy Bulls team on the road.

[Wonka]

That last shot to ice the game tonight was insane

[Ballings7]

That last shot to ice the game tonight was insane

Read on Twitter

Wild.

[prime1time]

38/12/5 with GOAT defense, 18 points in the fourth quarter and the game winner. The thing I love most about Wemby is that he wants to be the guy. He doesn't shy away from the moment. I've never seen a player make more impactful plays on a basketball court. The closest thing I've seen to it is playoff LBJ. When he could just put on his cape and turn into superman. Wemby is like that but he does it on a routine basis. Night in, night out. Magic's Lakers, Bird's Celtics. MJ Bulls. Kobe/Shaq Lakers. LBJ's Cavs/Heat. Duncan's Spurs. Curry's Warriors. Wemby's Spurs. Wemby is no longer coming. He's here.

[prime1time]

Spurs are 8 - 2 and have been battling injuries. In the playoffs when the guards can play physical and Wemby's minutes increase it's going to be very tough to beat this Spurs team. As the season goes on they'll get better and better. The Spurs are a very scary team.

[Miami_Lux]

38/12/5 with GOAT defense, 18 points in the fourth quarter and the game winner. The thing I love most about Wemby is that he wants to be the guy. He doesn't shy away from the moment. I've never seen a player make more impactful plays on a basketball court. The closest thing I've seen to it is playoff LBJ. When he could just put on his cape and turn into superman. Wemby is like that but he does it on a routine basis. Night in, night out. Magic's Lakers, Bird's Celtics. MJ Bulls. Kobe/Shaq Lakers. LBJ's Cavs/Heat. Duncan's Spurs. Curry's Warriors. Wemby's Spurs. Wemby is no longer coming. He's here.

No he doesn t. Prior to the Bulls game he had a 4-game stretch shooting 25-59 from the field (42%), 3-18 from 3 point (17%). Especially egregious was his game against the Suns where he was guarded by 6´4, 6´5 dudes no one has ever heard of, and showed a complete lack of aggression and looked extremely passive.

Now don t get me wrong he is allowed to have these types of games in his 3 rd season. But if you want to put him on the night in night out delivering superstar offensive performances that just doesn t add up to reality...yet

[Bornstellar]

38/12/5 with GOAT defense, 18 points in the fourth quarter and the game winner. The thing I love most about Wemby is that he wants to be the guy. He doesn't shy away from the moment. I've never seen a player make more impactful plays on a basketball court. The closest thing I've seen to it is playoff LBJ. When he could just put on his cape and turn into superman. Wemby is like that but he does it on a routine basis. Night in, night out. Magic's Lakers, Bird's Celtics. MJ Bulls. Kobe/Shaq Lakers. LBJ's Cavs/Heat. Duncan's Spurs. Curry's Warriors. Wemby's Spurs. Wemby is no longer coming. He's here.

No he doesn t. Prior to the Bulls game he had a 4-game stretch shooting 25-59 from the field (42%), 3-18 from 3 point (17%). Especially egregious was his game against the Suns where he was guarded by 6´4, 6´5 dudes no one has ever heard of, and showed a complete lack of aggression and looked extremely passive.

Now don t get me wrong he is allowed to have these types of games in his 3 rd season. But if you want to put him on the night in night out delivering superstar offensive performances that just doesn t add up to reality...yet

Yes, he had a couple of poor games (relatively speaking) which looks especially bad because of that Suns game, but even when he is off on O he is still providing MVP level impact on the defensive end. That is something no one else in the MVP discussion can do. Shai is a good defender and Giannis was an elite defender a few years ago but no one even comes close to touching him on that end.

[prime1time]

38/12/5 with GOAT defense, 18 points in the fourth quarter and the game winner. The thing I love most about Wemby is that he wants to be the guy. He doesn't shy away from the moment. I've never seen a player make more impactful plays on a basketball court. The closest thing I've seen to it is playoff LBJ. When he could just put on his cape and turn into superman. Wemby is like that but he does it on a routine basis. Night in, night out. Magic's Lakers, Bird's Celtics. MJ Bulls. Kobe/Shaq Lakers. LBJ's Cavs/Heat. Duncan's Spurs. Curry's Warriors. Wemby's Spurs. Wemby is no longer coming. He's here.

No he doesn t. Prior to the Bulls game he had a 4-game stretch shooting 25-59 from the field (42%), 3-18 from 3 point (17%). Especially egregious was his game against the Suns where he was guarded by 6´4, 6´5 dudes no one has ever heard of, and showed a complete lack of aggression and looked extremely passive.

Now don t get me wrong he is allowed to have these types of games in his 3 rd season. But if you want to put him on the night in night out delivering superstar offensive performances that just doesn t add up to reality...yet

I think the confusion lies in impact on the game. Wemby is a different kind of superstar. He has insane defensive impact. If he's putting up superstar offensive performances that's wonderful, but even in that bad stretch he's playing defense at a level so superior to anyone else in the league that it's laughable. That's what I meant. Basically, id you don't make threes against the Spurs and if you're big can't pull Wemby from the rim you have no chance. That's what I meant by impact on the game.

[prime1time]

38/12/5 with GOAT defense, 18 points in the fourth quarter and the game winner. The thing I love most about Wemby is that he wants to be the guy. He doesn't shy away from the moment. I've never seen a player make more impactful plays on a basketball court. The closest thing I've seen to it is playoff LBJ. When he could just put on his cape and turn into superman. Wemby is like that but he does it on a routine basis. Night in, night out. Magic's Lakers, Bird's Celtics. MJ Bulls. Kobe/Shaq Lakers. LBJ's Cavs/Heat. Duncan's Spurs. Curry's Warriors. Wemby's Spurs. Wemby is no longer coming. He's here.

No he doesn t. Prior to the Bulls game he had a 4-game stretch shooting 25-59 from the field (42%), 3-18 from 3 point (17%). Especially egregious was his game against the Suns where he was guarded by 6´4, 6´5 dudes no one has ever heard of, and showed a complete lack of aggression and looked extremely passive.

Now don t get me wrong he is allowed to have these types of games in his 3 rd season. But if you want to put him on the night in night out delivering superstar offensive performances that just doesn t add up to reality...yet

I think the confusion lies in impact on the game. Wemby is a different kind of superstar. He has insane defensive impact. If he's putting up superstar offensive performances that's wonderful, but even in that bad stretch he's playing defense at a level so superior to anyone else in the league that it's laughable. That's what I meant. Basically, id you don't make threes against the Spurs and if you're big can't pull Wemby from the rim you have no chance. That's what I meant by impact on the game.

I don't think this can be understated. The Suns didn't just line up and stop Wemby one-on-one. They double teamed. Now these aren't the normal double teams that other star players see - i.e. traps coming off the PnR with a team that is already to built to defend it. The key to understanding the Spurs is that they are going to play a fundamentally different style of basketball than ball dominant player, 3-point shooters and a rim running big. When a double team slows down a player like Wemby, the entire team has to be on the same page. That's why the double team was so effective. Because the Spurs weren't prepared for it and everyone was doing their own thing. The more Wemby and the Spurs see unique defensives, the more they will adapt. Double teams in the long run aren't a viable solution because eventually the other Spurs players are going to make you pay.

But already at 21 you're seeing what teams will have to deal with going forward. GOAT level defense combined with a player that must be double teamed on offense. How many players in the NBA command double teams? Of those players how many commanded double teams at 21? As for my initial comments, I stand by them. Dude is a GOAT level defensive player and he's a must double team on offense, creating easy looks for his teammates. And this is every time he steps on the court. Regardless if his 3 is falling, regardless if he's aggressive or passive, regardless of his shooting percentages, regardless of his block numbers.

That's what I meant by impacting winning. No player in NBA history has a greater impact on winning. And he's only 21. When he's 22 his offense will be even better. Wemby and his teammates will have had an entire year facing these double teams. They'll spend the offseason preparing for it.

[prime1time]

One more thing. When Wemby has a game with an absurd stat line.We have to be clear about what we are seeing. This isn't Luka Doncic or Nikola Jokic putting up impressive stat lines while hiding on defense. It's literally one of the most dominant performances the NBA has ever seen. When Wemby plays like how he played last night it's arguably one of the greatest performances we've seen. He's anchoring the defense and then taking over the game offensively. 18 points in the 4th with clutch blocks and impacting things defensively. That was one of the greatest 4th quarter performances I've ever seen. To go a step further, it's disrespectful to Wemby to compare him to guys like Jokic and Luka who hide on defense.. Wemby takes pride in being a two way player. He's literally turning, sprinting and swatting shots going all out on the defensive end. And then turns around and carries the offense. Do people understand what we're watching? Like this is some insane stuff.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

He's still a year or two away from being strong enough to go against smaller defenders. I think when he gets to 260lbs, that's when he will ascend to best player in the league as there will be no way you can defend him with a wing, and he'll be too quick for most Cs. Basically being an oversized version of Giannis with a jumper.


Also, his frontcourt mate should be something they look at long term, if I were them I'd want someone like a Mobley type next to him. Not a wing playing the 4, but someone with size that can defend and abuse smaller matchups. They have the guards, but putting a power 4 next to him is the best way to build that team IMO. Make switching a death sentence, outside of maybe the Magic no team has two power wings that can defend a 7'5" guy and his 6'11" frontcourt mate. I see how well they play with Kornet, so think about how that would look if the guy next to him had size, could hit the three & rebound.

[Bornstellar]

He's still a year or two away from being strong enough to go against smaller defenders. I think when he gets to 260lbs, that's when he will ascend to best player in the league as there will be no way you can defend him with a wing, and he'll be too quick for most Cs. Basically being an oversized version of Giannis with a jumper.


Also, his frontcourt mate should be something they look at long term, if I were them I'd want someone like a Mobley type next to him. Not a wing playing the 4, but someone with size that can defend and abuse smaller matchups. They have the guards, but putting a power 4 next to him is the best way to build that team IMO. Make switching a death sentence, outside of maybe the Magic no team has two power wings that can defend a 7'5" guy and his 6'11" frontcourt mate. I see how well they play with Kornet, so think about how that would look if the guy next to him had size, could hit the three & rebound.

I think he is strong enough now. The problem is not smaller defenders, it's him getting swarmed by multiple defenders and our teams general inability to play out of a double team right now. If a teams tries to play him 1v1, no matter what kind of player, he is going to eat them alive. But teams have started putting smaller guys on him to get low on him and immediately swarm him when he catches the ball and thus far his teammates have not been great at punishing teams for it. Other problem is that he is so big that any time he does use his body to try and punish a smaller defender, they flop and he gets called for a foul. On top of that, they are allowed to absolutely maul him on defense. He isn't getting those superstar calls just yet.

I agree with your second point though, which is why I opined on the possibility of kicking the tires on AD if the Mavs blow it up. Spurs have an obvious massive hole at PF. They are slowly building a team around him but they really need to upgrade the PF spot and get more shooters around him so that when he gets doubled/tripled immediately after catching the ball, someone can actually make the defense pay

[NoDopeOnSundays]

He's still a year or two away from being strong enough to go against smaller defenders. I think when he gets to 260lbs, that's when he will ascend to best player in the league as there will be no way you can defend him with a wing, and he'll be too quick for most Cs. Basically being an oversized version of Giannis with a jumper.


Also, his frontcourt mate should be something they look at long term, if I were them I'd want someone like a Mobley type next to him. Not a wing playing the 4, but someone with size that can defend and abuse smaller matchups. They have the guards, but putting a power 4 next to him is the best way to build that team IMO. Make switching a death sentence, outside of maybe the Magic no team has two power wings that can defend a 7'5" guy and his 6'11" frontcourt mate. I see how well they play with Kornet, so think about how that would look if the guy next to him had size, could hit the three & rebound.

I think he is strong enough now. The problem is not smaller defenders, it's him getting swarmed by multiple defenders and our teams general inability to play out of a double team right now. If a teams tries to play him 1v1, no matter what kind of player, he is going to eat them alive. But teams have started putting smaller guys on him to get low on him and immediately swarm him when he catches the ball and thus far his teammates have not been great at punishing teams for it. Other problem is that he is so big that any time he does use his body to try and punish a smaller defender, they flop and he gets called for a foul. On top of that, they are allowed to absolutely maul him on defense. He isn't getting those superstar calls just yet.

I agree with your second point though, which is why I opined on the possibility of kicking the tires on AD if the Mavs blow it up. Spurs have an obvious massive hole at PF. They are slowly building a team around him but they really need to upgrade the PF spot and get more shooters around him so that when he gets doubled/tripled immediately after catching the ball, someone can actually make the defense pay

He's stronger than last year, but the weight difference isn't large enough yet to offset the leverage a smaller player has right now, he's 235lbs which is the 5lbs less than KP, but he's also 3" taller than KP. KP used to struggle with smaller defenders as well, but there's a certain point where these guys get strong enough that when they're moving without the ball and duck to seal that a smaller defender just has no chance. Right now, he's still at the point where the smaller defenders can impede him enough that he can't just duck and seal on them as much as he will in a year or two. I think 255-260lbs is when putting a wing on him is just not going to work, not unless they're like prime LeBron build.

AD is essentially the exact player type you want next to him, the PF with PF size that can also defend and punish all these teams that play smaller wings at the 4. I don't know what they'd have to trade to get him, I'd imagine something like Vassell and Barnes & Sochan would work.