The Oklahoma City Thunder have successfully nullified Victor Wembanyama after the French phenom delivered a performance for the ages in the San Antonio Spurs‘ win in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
Over the last two games, Wemby has tallied 23.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 blocks on 51.6% shooting. On paper, those numbers are excellent. However, if one digs deeper, it’s evident that Wemby hasn’t been able to exert himself on the offensive end as he did in Game 1, when he had a playoff career-high 41 points and 24 boards.
ESPN Insights highlighted the lack of Wemby’s paint dominance in Games 2 and 3.
Since Game 1, the Thunder have done their best to keep Victor Wembanyama away from the basket 😳
Victor Wembanyama’s Average FG Distance in the WCF
Game 1 5.4′
Game 2 15.1′
Game 3 13.3′
Victor Wembanyama’s Average FG Distance in the WCF Game 1 5.4′ Game 2 15.1′ Game 3 13.3′
Thunder Crack the Wemby Code?
Further to the aforementioned graph, Wemby has attempted a combined 10 shots within five feet (restricted area) in Games 2 and 3, and after he took a staggering 19 shots close to the rim in Game 1. In the opening game of the Western Conference Finals, Wemby took only three shots in 5-9 feet range, one shot in the 15-19 feet area and two shots in 25-29 feet range.
Over the last two games, he has taken a concerning 10 shots from 25-29 feet as he has been unable to penetrate OKC’s stout defense. Furthermore, Wemby is no longer operating as a lob threat due to Thunder’s defensive scheme preventing such shots.
NBA.com’s Jeff Zillgitt broke down how the Thunder have done well to contain Wemby.
“[Mark] Daigneault and Thunder players have expressed multiple times how difficult it is to defend Wembanyama,” he wrote. “Oklahoma City has managed to reduce his impact game by game since that historic 41-point, 24-rebound performance in Game 1.
“Wembanyama had 26 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field and 8-for-10 on free throws but for the second consecutive game he had just 10 points in the paint after scoring 26 paint points in Game 1. He also had just four rebounds and no offensive boards.”
Wemby Vows to be Better in Game 4
“The Thunder used various defenders on Wembanyama, including 7-foot, 268-pound Isaiah Hartenstein and the 6-foot-10, 241-pound Jaylin Williams.
“I know I’m not going to play as many minutes as he is, so the minutes I’m out there, I’m trying to make his job as tough as I can make it,” Williams said. “It’s fun to be out there doing the physicality (and) those types of things.”
Meanwhile, Wemby vowed to be better in Game 4 when the Spurs face a do-or-die situation, given that they have never rallied back from a 3-1 deficit in their storied playoff history. Notably, the Frenchman plans to make his teammates better.
“I feel like each and every one of us got to be better,” he said after the Game 3 loss, via ESPN’s Michael C. Wright.
“It’s just that as a team, as an organization, there’s a lot of new experiences. We’re just going to have to find the answers. It’s my first playoffs. It’s the first playoffs for many of us. Of course, there was going to be hard trials. That’s to be expected. But now, we’re going to see what we’re made of.”
Spurs vs Thunder Game 4 tips off at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday.
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