When he’s like that, nothing and no one can stop him. Victor Wembanyama once again sparked last night during San Antonio’s trip to the Minnesota Timberwolves, which ended in a defeat (104-103). After starting the match as a starter, a first since his knee hyperextended on December 31 against New York, he fired on all cylinders, and delivered a high-class offensive performance (29 points, 7 rebounds).
Opposite, his compatriot Rudy Gobert does not have the same talent, and if his deterrence under the basket is very valuable to his team (14 rebounds), his offensive palette does not offer the same variety (2 points). The duel between the two French people, who have known each other for a very long time, in any case showed all the richness of French basketball.
The jump ball at the start of the match was won by Victor Wembanyama, and his domination continued for the rest of the match. Apart from his first attempt, after 30 seconds of play, where he stumbled against Rudy Gobert, he then caused misery to his teammate in blue, whom he often tortured with confusing dribbles followed by ultra-precise shots.
In the last quarter, we briefly thought the worst when Wemby fell on the foot of Gobert, who was trying to block him beyond the three-point line. Holding his ankle which seemed to have twisted a little, he finally got up to register the four free throws which were granted to him on the action (three for the long attempt, one for a flagrant foul by Gobert). “Victor finished the match and did not seem diminished at all,” reassured Spurs coach Mitch Johnson after the match.
Wembanyama good everywhere
Victor Wembanyama especially worked miracles in painting, where his long strides and his 2.24 m gave him access to the sometimes insolent circle of success. But Wemby also tried his luck from afar, with a slightly more uneven success (3 out of 9, or 33%).
All this in just 27 minutes on the floor! The Frenchman from Spurs is in fact still limited in the time he spends on the floor. The San Antonio staff does not intend to force things with such a unique physique. “It’s not tomorrow that he’s going to play 40 minutes per match,” Mitch Johnson admitted a few days ago. We think about the long term with him, we owe him that. »
However, the staff also have extremely confidence in him: the Frenchman was kept on the floor during the last quarter, even though he had already accumulated five fouls, and one more would have caused him to be excluded from the game. At that point he became a little less engaged in his defensive tasks, no longer taking up the counterattack to avoid returning to the locker room before the end of the match. He also did not make any blocks in the game, a rarity since his debut in the NBA.
The Spurs, who were up to 19 points ahead at the heart of the match, suffered attacks from Wolves at the end of the match. “They are very physical, they won that fight,” admitted Johnson. Minnesota also took advantage of Wemby’s rests: when Wembanyama was on the floor, the Spurs scored 17 more points than their opponent…
