What if Victor Wembanyama’s calf injury was ultimately the best thing that could have happened to Spurs? Last season, San Antonio was in a tough situation in his absence: 13 victories for 23 defeats without the Frenchman. This year, while he was resting his calf, the Texans went an impressive 9-3. And when he came back, they shifted into a new dimension.
While Victor was recovering, his teammates took responsibility and made significant progress. Where they posted a net rating of -6.1 without him last season, they turned to +1.1 this time. De’Aaron Fox accumulated 25.2 pts and 6.5 pds. Stephon Castle has raised his level of scoring and playmaking to a point that makes Draymond Green say in his podcast that “the Spurs are as lucky to have him as they are to have Wembanyama. » As expected, Dylan Harper is excellent in his first year, and there is no equivalent in terms of offensive aggressiveness in the NBA to the trio that these three guards form. And if the defenses wanted to block their access to the circle, with Barnes, Champagnie or Vassell they have wingers capable of punishing. With Keldon Johnson providing rebounding off the bench and Luke Kornet probably being the most underrated backup center in the league, the Spurs may be young, but heavily armed. In the absence of Victor, and behind Fox’s 25 pawns, six players were between 13 and 17 points! Without their star, they raised the level and each assumed responsibilities that they would not have had with him.
And when he returned, they were ready. Ready to demonstrate that they are perhaps well ahead of all the good things we thought of them. And ready to reassure those who said to themselves that we were going to have an arch-domination of OKC all season. And the following. Despite a defeat in the ninth game of the season, the Thunder gave the impression that nothing and no one could challenge their domination. The level of play he has displayed since the start of the year is simply astonishing. If the season is still long, we may well be seeing the strongest team in basketball history evolve. And this is the team that Spurs defeated in an incredible match. Victor’s first after 12 missed matches.
Obviously, you shouldn’t set yourself on fire. His return is recent. And San Antonio then lost the NBA Cup final. Wembanyama also had more difficulty in his second match. Despite everything, despite the small errors of their franchise player, despite the defeat in the final, the Spurs sent a real message during this half. A half which looked like an exploit but which should not be considered as such. The word would be reductive. This team made enormous progress offensively without its star and he instantly gave them a crazy defensive dimension. With this defence, if, in the coming weeks, SA can integrate the Frenchman into the attacking identity that has been so successful for them in recent times, then they will have found the recipe to be a serious contender in the West – let’s not be afraid of words. That absolutely does not mean that this team, which sorely lacks experience in the playoffs, will go all the way or even very far this year. Just that they will probably become a contender for the Conf finals and the title much faster than expected. And that they are our best allies so that we avoid getting tired of seeing SGA and its team stack up the titles.
Obviously, everything moves very quickly in the NBA. The Spurs play OKC twice next week and these words can quickly get old. But we don’t really believe in it. The Spurs have proven in recent weeks and against the Thunder that they are ahead of schedule and predictions. It remains to be seen how much.
