After beating the elements, the snow and the cold which delayed their arrival in San Antonio, the Spurs dismissed Orlando, too narrowly last night (112-103). Victor Wembanyama’s teammates put things back together after a defeat the day before in Charlotte. But especially after a journey which saw them postpone their departure from Charlotte due to heavy snowfall. Then to have been forced to land in Atlanta for a technical problem with the device. Before going around again and landing in Texas in the afternoon, the match schedule being regularly pushed back to accommodate their arrival.
“It wasn’t the best conditions, but I’ve seen worse in my career!” Wemby reacted after the match. We talked about it before the meeting, we said to ourselves that we should have no excuses. We had to be ready. The NBA has so much power that it can adapt to any situation. She made things easy for us. »
Coach Mitch Johnson, known as coach for the All-Star Game (best coach in the Western Conference, a first for the Spurs since Popovich in 2016), liked what he saw. “We shared quality moments together. We played cards, we joked. This long day of travel reminded me of G-League matches (Editor’s note: American hopes). »
“They didn’t want to place themselves on the playing field”
If Victor Wembanyama was announced as doubtful due to recurring calf pain, he held his place well from the kick-off. And finished with a performance that his coach described as “solid”: 25 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 interceptions, 2 assists. No one did better than him in this meeting. Only downside: its new zero scored at 3 points (0/4).
Wemby and his teammates left nothing to chance and quickly widened the gap. With some classy actions from Wemby, like when he comes out of nowhere to slam the ball against the boards during the second quarter, or even converting an alley-oop from Fox on one side and going to counter a ball on the other! At the end of the match, his arms and look angry after a last dunk, he savored this victory, against the Floridians who tried to break the rhythm of the Spurs.
“I wasn’t frustrated,” Wemby said after the match. They did that because they didn’t want to put themselves on the playing field, whereas our role in attack is to create the game.”
A behavior that pleased Mitch Johnson: “Under these conditions, the response from the players was incredible. They have proven a lot of things this year. »
