Victor Wembanyama has taken down many stars already in his young career. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and even the great Nikola Jokic, but he's never beaten Zion Williamson. Part of that is due to the former Blue Devil's lack of availability in the first half of last season and the French phenom's absence in the back half. But not entirely.
They've played twice, and the Pelicans won both contests. Zion wasn't great in one of them, only dropping 15 points, but that's all they needed from him that night as they spanked the Spurs 146-110. Wemby only put in 17 points of his own, but he was still a rookie and it was barely two months into the season, so nobody holds that against him.
It's a new day, though. Vic is coming differently this year. So in preparation for another clash of styles, here's a game preview for San Antonio's second game of the season.
Pelicans' important roster notes
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The Silver and Black are going from [playing one of the larger rosters](https://airalamo.com/it-took-one-half-victor-wembanyama-detonate-huge-bomb-nba) in the league to one of the smallest. The Pelicans' tallest player is their starting center, Yves Missi, at 6'11". There is one 7-footer on the roster, but he's a two-way player named Hunter Dickinson, and he can't be expected to take charge of slowing down Wembanyama if he gets in the game at all. Most of their best guys range anywhere from 6'4" to 6'8"
Not to mention, they're still shorthanded, as Dejounte Murray recovers from an ACL tear, but they brought in reinforcements in the form of Jordan Poole this offseason. Poole doesn't have the best reputation among fans in the NBA, but he still has the potential to get hot, so the Spurs will need to crowd his space.
Dylan Harper will see the number seven overall pick, Jeremiah Fears, for the first time tonight. Fears is an instant offense-style player and was 7-10 in their season-opening loss to the Grizzlies.
New Orleans may be lacking size, but they still have talented players on their roster. Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, and Saddiq Bey can all make plays on the court. San Antonio will need to be disciplined with their ball security and their reads; otherwise, this team will be out in transition, letting their athleticism take over.
If the Spurs [dominated the Mavs](https://airalamo.com/underrated-spurs-takeaways-buried-beneath-wembanyama-monstrous-return) on the boards (60-47), they should be able to do the same to the Pelicans. If they can use their size to impose their will, keep their turnovers down, and keep a lid on New Orleans' explosive players, the Silver and Black should be looking at another blowout. That would give them their first 2-0 start since the 2020-21 season.