Victor Wembanyama, Young San Antonio Spurs Still Have Lots to Learn
As Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac lined up for his second of two free throws midway through the third quarter of his team's host matchup against the San Antonio Spurs, he felt no pressure.
Los Angeles — in its third game of the season — had the entire basketball world's attention Sunday night. Not only was the buzz of the new season still lingering from a few nights prior, but Victor Wembanyama was in the building for his first career road game. And that in of itself drew attention.
He's already played plenty of basketball in the first half, which was a good sign given his foul trouble during his regular-season debut, but it was to no avail. San Antonio was down by 30 points and all hope of a comeback was certainly gone, but Zubac and the Clippers weren't done yet.
The 7-foot center stepped up to the line, lined up his shot and hit the free throw to give Los Angeles its biggest lead of the night to that point. A quarter-and-a-half later, the Clippers won by 40 and handed the Spurs their first blowout loss of the year.
Here are three takeaways from San Antonio's third regular season game:
Oct 29, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) against the Los Angeles Clippers during the first half at Crypto.com Arena.
© Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
1) Youth Cannot Be Ignored
When Victor Wembanyama arrived in San Antonio, a good amount of the Spurs' fanbase likely felt invincible.
They had one of the greatest rookie talents to ever enter the league set to suit up in their team's threads, a slew of NBA fans from other franchises already calling him a bust and a level of media attention that they hadn't experienced in years — a decade, even. But "invincible" status was far from where San Antonio was with the rookie.
And Sunday night, that was apparent.
Wembanyama had his struggles on offense — more on that in a second — but beyond that, the Spurs couldn't move the ball effectively, and when the Clippers started to find their shots, it only got worse.
Without truly experienced players, San Antonio didn't have a failsafe when it started to fall behind on the scoreboard. There isn't any doubt that the Spurs' effort remained high throughout the entire game, but as a team, they didn't have the facilities to mount a comeback.
Wembanyama was being guarded, and nearly shutdown, by Kawhi Leonard while Jeremy Sochan was still struggling through playing point guard in the early stages of San Antonio's starting five experiment. Tre Jones has displayed a much higher level of comfortability at that position, but doesn't quite bring the "IT" factor alongside Wembanyama and company ... yet.
All issues that were on full display Sunday evening aren't destined to remain for the entirety of the season. The Spurs are young — the youngest in the league, in fact — and have ample time to figure both them and Wembanyama out, but they still have a long way to go. That's what this season is for.
2) Wembanyama Struggles Against Top Tier Defenders
As tall, talented and honestly terrifying a driving Victor Wembanyama can be to opposing defenses, especially when he's calling for a lob still behind the 3-point line, he isn't unstoppable.
The 7-4 rookie has his off-shooting nights — one of the things he has still to work on — but a trend that's seemed to reveal itself has been the timing of those nights.
When being guarded by Dillon Brooks, Wembanyama was nearly silent during the entire first half. Brooks, as expressive as he is off the court, brings a level of defense that isn't something to glance over. Wembanyama was able to adjust and recover, however, coming alive in the fourth quarter to push the Spurs past the Rockets, but the same could not be said about his performance in Los Angeles.
Call it the road atmosphere, but Wembanyama was facing off against Kawhi Leonard for the better part of San Antonio's road test, and it was apparent.
On the night, Wembanyama was just 4-10 from the field, tallying 11 points and just five rebounds, but while he was able to score in the double digits, he wasn't efficient, and the Spurs didn't truly benefit from his presence. It does speak levels to the defender that Leonard is — and the difference in level from him to Brooks — but if Wembanyama wants to take his game to the next level, he'll need to perform against defenders like Leonard moving forward.
3) Bassey's Boost & Cedi's Jump in Production
Oct 29, 2023; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard (2) moves the ball against San Antonio Spurs forward Cedi Osman (16) during the second half at Crypto.com Arena.
© Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Wembanyama might not have been the most efficient on the night — granted he was being guarded by the Clippers' best defender — but in his absence, two key bench players stepped up for the Spurs.
Charles Bassey was the only Spur to finish with a positive plus-minus, with Cedi Osman following close behind at -5, but those are just stats. On the court, Osman exerts himself as a veteran presence.
Without the ball, the small forward positions himself well and with it, he facilitates scoring as much as he finds the bottom of the bucket himself. Against the Clippers, Osman finished with 12 points — second to only Devin Vassell — including two 3-pointers and made his presence felt on the defensive end, registering one each block and steal.
Bassey, while playing a vastly different role, brought a similar level of production to San Antonio. In the 16 minutes he was on the court, the Spurs outscored the Clippers by nine, Bassey grabbed five boards and scored six quick points. He isn't a franchise center with potential higher than the stars, but he brought a much-needed boost on offense to a struggling San Antonio squad.
His performance was a chance for him to prove his on-court worth, and that it did. Naturally, when your best scorer only scores 14 points, it's not likely to be a great outing. It certainly wasn't for the Spurs, but Bassey proved to be a bright spot.
He and Osman will undoubtedly look to continue to bring their best to the table when they get playing time, and Sunday night was a telltale sign of that.
