Danny Green, who made two trips to the NBA Finals with the San Antonio Spurs, is worried that Victor Wembanyama is “fatigued” and may be unable to carry his team past the Oklahoma City Thunder.
After the Spurs dropped Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals — in which Wemby shot 26.7% from the field (4-of-15) and grabbed just six rebounds — Green felt the Frenchman looked like he had run out of gas.
“To me, it looks like the fatigue is on Victor. His legs weren’t there, and neither were his energy or activity,” Green told ESPN’s “NBA Today” on Wednesday.
“I think that overtime game [in Game 1] and the overall minutes are starting to add up when it comes to [Victor Wembanyama]. And his rebounds are a direct reflection on his activity level. When he’s rebounding, it shows his activity.”
Victor Wembanyama Fatigued?
Green also highlighted several key statistical markers to suggest that the Thunder’s physical defense had taken its toll on Wemby. For one, the 7-foot-5 phenom had just one rebound in the first half of Wednesday’s loss. Furthermore, he attempted just five shots in the restricted area and settled for six field goal attempts in the 20-29 foot range as OKC’s defense made a concerted effort to keep him out of the paint area.
That wasn’t the case earlier in the series when Wemby had his way while driving the lane and posting up — especially when guarded by Chet Holmgren.
Another key statistical marker is that the Spurs are 7-2 in these playoffs when Wemby has eight or more rebounds, and 2-4 when he has fewer than eight boards. To that end, he had a combined 32 rebounds when the Spurs beat the Thunder in Games 1 and 4.
Spurs to Make Adjustments
San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson made it clear after the Game 5 loss that his coaching staff will put Wembanyama in better positions to succeed. And that starts with ensuring their franchise player attempts more than 15 shots.
“He’s got to take more than 15 shots,” Johnson said, via ESPN’s Michael C. Wright.
“Even with the [12] free throws, he’s going to have to score more than 20 points for sure.”
He credited OKC’s defensive scheme to keep Wemby out of the paint in Game 5, but plans to counterattack in the must-win Game 6 at home.
“OKC did a good job [on Wemby]. We’ve got to do a better job,” Johnson said.
“That’s probably the easiest in terms of when you [look at] surface-level stuff that he’ll definitely need to take more shots. But there’s a lot of things all over the place. Even when we had advantages, we just didn’t make simple plays and take advantage of the opportunity, that possession.”
Spurs vs Thunder Game 6 tips off at 8:30 p.m. ET on Thursday. If Wemby and Co. can stave off elimination, they will travel back to Oklahoma City for Game 7 on Saturday.
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