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Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs lost 114-95 to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. The rookie had his worst game of the season, finishing with just seven points, 11 below his season average. The lopsided loss was quite surprising considering how the Spurs nearly beat the Bulls in their previous meeting.
The French phenom could have put up more buckets if only his teammates were determined to give him the ball. He did have an impact on different aspects of the game. The No. 1 pick of this year’s draft added five rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals.
Former NBA player Stacey King, who now works as a color commentator for the Bulls, had this to say about how the Spurs played:
“I don’t know how you miss a 7-foot-4 guy. I just don’t understand. … Remember, he hurt the Bulls in San Antonio by just throwing it up there and let him go get it. It seems like the team [Spurs] is reluctant to throw it to him.
“Wembanyama is your No. 1 guy and everyone else needs to find their role after that. It seems like, watching this team twice now, there’s guys trying to figure out if they’re the No. 1 guy. I hate to bring it to you – you’re not.”
In the first encounter between the Bulls and the Spurs, Victor Wembanyama had 10 points and 11 rebounds in the first half alone. He finished the game with 21 points, 20 rebounds, four assists, four blocks and one steal. The 19-year-old Frenchman became the youngest player to record at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game.
What Stacey King said was the same thing that former Spur Sean Elliott repeatedly said during the first Bulls-Spurs game. Elliott, who is part of the team’s broadcast team, also couldn’t understand why San Antonio kept failing to give Wembanyama the ball on offense.
In Victor Wembanyama’s seven-point output against the Chicago Bulls, he took just eight shots. Zach Collins, the San Antonio Spurs’ backup center had 10 attempts. It wasn’t even the Bulls’ defense that contained “Wemby” throughout the game. The Spurs seemingly just couldn’t get their best player going.
San Antonio Spurs' point guard experiment has partly caused Victor Wembanyama to struggle
The San Antonio Spurs planned to have their best players on the court once they drafted Victor Wembanyama. Coach Gregg Popovich decided to use Jeremy Sochan, a forward who never played point guard, to run the offense.
During most of the season, several basketball analysts pleaded with “Pop” and the Spurs front office to give Wembanyama a much better playmaker. San Antonio only stopped the experiment in the team’s first game against the Chicago Bulls. Popovich had Malaki Branham and Devin Vassell handle the ball more.
Sochan, moving forward, will have his bit part in initiating the offense. Branham and Vassell are still trying to find their rhythm as main ball handlers. Whatever the case may be, the playmakers have to make sure Victor Wembanyama gets the ball.
