The San Antonio Spurs fell to the Golden State Warriors. A defeat that revealed some limitations in San Antonio's roster. But also made people realise a little more how much Victor Wembanyama is already among the greats.
After challenging the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, the Spurs faced another Western Conference heavyweight. In a boiling Frost Bank Center, the San Antonio franchise hosted Warriors at the very start of a crisis.
Except that when you put veterans like Draymond Green and Stephen Curry with their backs against the wall, you take the risk of an immediate reaction. Result: Golden State secured their seventh success of the season, bringing down the Spurs for the third time since October (120-125).
Stephen Curry disrupted Spurs' gameplan
Unsurprisingly, Stephen Curry took his responsibilities after a return to Steve Kerr's starting five. The point guard even pushed the boundaries by smashing a new NBA record. Yet, opposite, Mitch Johnson's men did not lack merit. Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle even recorded a triple-double each.
Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry dribbles against San Antonio Spurs Victor Wembanyama
In vain. Last night, Stephen Curry was stronger than the San Antonio collective. Even though the American legend had to change his way of playing. The proof is with this mind-boggling stat. During the Spurs-Warriors match, Stephen Curry shot 16 free throws.
A figure matched by all of San Antonio's players combined! But then, what pushed Stephen Curry to modify his shooting? Because yes, against Wemby, the Baby Faced Assassin had "only" 31.3 percent success from three-point range. A 5/16 obviously caused by the Spurs' 7ft 4in centre.
"Wembanyama? It makes no sense"
With a career average of 42.3 percent success, Stephen Curry had to be inventive to find a weakness in the Spurs' defence. Interviewed post-game, the Warriors' point guard confirmed that Wembanyama was the number one reason for the difficulties encountered by Golden State.
"I tried a few rainbow shots over him. I missed them all," Curry initially explained. "But it is not my shooting that worries me: Wembanyama comes to challenge you in a way that makes absolutely no sense," Stephen Curry affirms.
But then, if even the greatest three-point scorer in NBA history comes forward to say that Victor Wembanyama's defence is rough, is the DPOY debate already closed? No. Because there are still 71 regular season matches to play, and the Frenchman must stay healthy. But if Wemby continues to build momentum, the Spurs could dream of much more than a simple qualification for the 2026 Playoffs.
This article was originally published on We Sport.
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