On Tuesday evening, the San Antonio Spurs stumbled out of the gates with a tough home loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder to open up their season. It was a particularly rough game for superstar Victor Wembanyama, who shot an abysmal 1-13 from the field in the loss to the team San Antonio beat in last year’s Western Conference Finals.
Here are two overreactions to the tough performance.
Wemby is not the best in the world just yet
Heading into this season, many were eager to crown Wemby as the best player in the world, thanks to his combination of otherworldly defensive prowess and freakish offensive ability.
However, many of the same issues that plagued him in last year’s tough performance in the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks were present once again on Tuesday, as Wembanyama often looked unsure of himself as a primary creator in the halfcourt, often settling for jumpers and with a post game that looked more like a scared baby deer than a seasoned NBA big man.
Of course, he still made his usual immense impact on the defensive end and is already arguably the best player the league has ever seen on that end. However, it’s certainly worth considering how much his clear lack of a go-to offensive move or post game will impact his ceiling moving forward.
Spurs’ depth could be an issue
The Spurs didn’t get much from their bench on Tuesday, as Julian Champagnie, Keldon Johnson, Harrison Barnes, and others struggled to find the range from the outside, while Oklahoma City’s second unit, led by Jared McCain, caught fire from beyond the arc.
Of course, San Antonio played this game without Tobias Harris, a key free agent pickup this offseason who figures to play a big role for the team once he is back from injury.
Still, the Spurs have to be at least mildly concerned about the lack of shot creation on their bench, assuming Mitch Johnson continues to roll with Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, and De’Aaron Fox all in the starting lineup.
In any case, the Spurs will next hit the floor on Friday evening vs the Houston Rockets.
The post Spurs Opening Night overreactions: Pump the brakes on Victor Wembanyama’s coronation appeared first on ClutchPoints.
