By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The San Antonio Spurs drafted Victor Wembanyama last summer as the No. 1 pick, but with the French prodigy, they opened the season with just three wins out of 13 games, losing eight straight.
Wembanyama had another double-double against Memphis Grizzlies, and after the game, he talked about the fact that his team dropped a 19-point lead they had in the first half.
“How are we going to react? By just complaining or doing the things to bring up that energy. We need fresh energy coming onto the court, coming from halftime,” Wembanyama said.
Despite the losses, he believes chemistry in the team is good.
“We have a very healthy locker room, healthy relations between each other. This is not an issue at all. We’re losing, we’re losing together. If someone puts his head down, we go and help him. If someone falls on the court, all of us rush to help him up. There’s nothing like that.”
Coach Gregg Popovich sees the ‘wheels turning.’
“Well, we’ve been there before. We just have trouble sustaining, and we get those periods where the physicality builds, and we go dry offensively. When you don’t score and you’re in transition defense all the time, it makes it difficult, and the leads dissipate. So, it’s just that consistency to continue to score. Because when you’re going back on defense all the time, it makes it really tough. That’s the bottom line. The effort is there. I can see the wheels turning. Nobody likes to lose,” the winningest NBA coach said.
Popovich’s new project, Wemby, recorded eight blocks in a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, joining Tim Duncan and David Robinson as the only Spurs‘ rookie to record that many in a single game. The French star feels teams are starting to attack him less, realizing his rim-protecting abilities.
“I can say lately, less and less every game. They read the scouting report. I will say less. I’ve seen that already in the season and even before in my life,” Wembanyama concluded.