Grades: Spurs vs. Blazers - July 9, 2023

[timvp]

https://www.spurstalk.com/grades-spurs-blazers-summer-league-4/

[benefactor]

:cry Wemby pls :cry

[Mugen]

https://media2.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExdzIyOGVlaWpvamFwNDd5eDNrdW13eTU xOGtoMXZpdXhjbmJpdDB0eSZlcD12MV9naWZzX3NlYXJjaCZjd D1n/LDYDYu9gRpNLi/giphy.gif

[Mugen]

Not worried about Sidy. The refs tonight were definitely SL quality tbh

[benefactor]

Man this fucking kid...Jesus. I am seriously trying to stay reserved with my optimism but holy shit his skill level and physical tools combined. He looks like when he adjusts to the NBA game it will all be easy for him.

[spursparker9]

Wemby is only 7 for 12 on the FT line. Hit 3 more and it is a 30 point game

[Mr. Body]

I felt the non-Wembies started off doing everything possible to get Victor acclimated and in the flow and some of them never got back on track. To me, that's not a big deal. It's going to take a lot to integrate the pieces of the team together. This game was a big success to me. Shut Victor down for the rest of the summer league and let everyone else play.

[onechance87]

branham was bad...he lost us the game...If hes not making shots hes useless...cant play d or cant create shots for his team as u saw today

[DPG21920]

I said it on Twitter but I’m so excited I’m saying it here too lol:

Wemby/Sochan are tremendously exciting pairing. Not just the defensive potential with Wemby length and physical tools, but having Sochans relentless motor and tools as well. But the fun fun part? Is that BOTH of them are capable ball handlers and passers. What a unique and rare combo. To have two all nba defensive potential guys who can also legitimately handle the ball and facilitate????

What?

[slick'81]

You cannot stop wemby .you can only hope to contain him:cry

[Mr. Body]

branham was bad...hes lost us the game...If hes not making shots hes useless...cant play d or cant create shots for his team as u saw today

The guy's literally just 20 years old.

[Mr. Body]

I said it on Twitter but I’m so excited I’m saying it here too lol:

Wemby/Sochan are tremendously exciting pairing. Not just the defensive potential with Wemby length and physical tools, but having Sochans relentless motor and tools as well. But the fun fun part? Is that BOTH of them are capable ball handlers and passers. What a unique and rare combo. To have two all nba defensive potential guys who can also legitimately handle the ball and facilitate????

What?

Honestly feel we'll see sets with Mamukelashvili, too, who was expert at seeing Sochan for lobs. Pop will probably try Sandro out with Victor here and there.

[MultiTroll]

:lol Wesley.
His stoopid ball hogging three point chuck after Wemby brought us within 1 at 79-78 with 1:30.
Wemby was wide open.
Portland rebounds the brick and nails their own trey on a fluffer defensive switch job by the Spurs.
Pretty much game after that..

[jesterbobman]

Wemby looked much more settled in, and his intensity was a lot better. First game he was off, understandable nervous, a bit lackadaisical and playing to the crowd a bit.

Oh buddy.

[onechance87]

:lol Wesley.
His stoopid ball hogging three point chuck after Wemby brought us within 1 at 79-78 with 1:30.
Wemby was wide open.
Brick leads Portland on a fast break and easy trey made.

yup...wemby was obviously open...Yet wesley took a bad shot....hes no pg

[Mr. Body]

Branham assisted Victor's two most important shots -- the wing midrange that got him going at the beginning, and the pop-out three that closed the gap.

Just need to develop those skills and improve the vision. Learn and grow.

[kht]

A+ means no room for improvement for Wemby. Of course he was miles better than his first game.

[heyheymymy]

dude 27/12 plus 3 blks

this is with tons of room for improvement, too

sky is the limit

[heyheymymy]

love that time reverse loop he did where he pivots and gets shut down so he just rewinds the tape backwards and shoots the other direction he first came from lol

[benefactor]

Honestly feel we'll see sets with Mamukelashvili, too, who was expert at seeing Sochan for lobs. Pop will probably try Sandro out with Victor here and there.
:lol...why are you mentioning some random role player in the same sentence with Wemby and Sochan? He's ok but on the grand scale he's a journeyman nobody. They are lottery picks and part of the foundation of where this franchise is headed. He may or may not even be on the team in a year

[spurs1990]

Solid rotation shaping up - Jones, Vassell, Johnson, Wemby, Collins
------------
Wesley, Branham, Bullock, McDermott, Osman on the backend

[Cry Havoc]

love that time reverse loop he did where he pivots and gets shut down so he just rewinds the tape backwards and shoots the other direction he first came from lol

That wad the kind of move you see from Tracy McGrady or Chris Paul.

Not a 7 foot 4 inch defensive monster.

If the spurs let Wemby run and play 30+ mpg this year it's hard to see him not locking up ROTY by the ASG. He has literally every tool you want a guard to have on offense and every tool you want a defensive big to have on D.

And yeah his handles aren't at the level of someone like KD yet, but he's 19 and the handles are clearly there, just not as tight as they need to be.

Usually with lottery picks you talk about a ceiling, like a max level type player if all goes perfectly.

Wemby has no ceiling. If someone had a database for you to plug in numbers for skills like in a 2K basketball game, and you did that with Wemby, the computer would whirr for a few minutes and simply spit back out at you: No known analogues. Maybe down the road we'll see more guys like Wemby, but I dont think we've ever seen a player like this before on multiple levels. And Jesus christ he has Pop, Tim, and David mentoring him. He's could EASILY have some comically historic games during his career. 40 points 30 rebounds 12 blocks 7 assists kind of stuff.

[Adam Lambert]

He'll be the first player in NBA history with multiple quadruple doubles.

[BillMc]

Solid rotation shaping up - Jones, Vassell, Johnson, Wemby, Collins
------------
Wesley, Branham, Bullock, McDermott, Osman on the backend

Sochan is not in your rotation?

[polandprzem]

Wemby is only 7 for 12 on the FT line. Hit 3 more and it is a 30 point game

Hmm. You talking about impossible for him. He got A+. Not much more he can do.

[Dejounte]

Anyone else notice Jarace Walker’s face all night whenever he was matching up with Wemby? He had a “aint a thing I can do about that” look on his face all night LOL

Having a player that makes the opposing team feel helpless is oh so nice. In fact, i think it’s only Curry who imposes that feeling right now

[Mr. Body]

Anyone else notice Jarace Walker’s face all night whenever he was matching up with Wemby? He had a “aint a thing I can do about that” look on his face all night LOL

Having a player that makes the opposing team feel helpless is oh so nice. In fact, i think it’s only Curry who imposes that feeling right now

* Jabari

[GAustex]

The team needs to figure out how to play with the unicorn

[spursparker9]

Hmm. You talking about impossible for him. He got A+. Not much more he can do.

Hitting at a higher % than 7/12 is impossible ??

[scott]

Great game from Wemby that would be an A+ for most mortals, but I feel like that was probably still just a B+ for Wemby.

[horseshue]

A+ is a bit too much for Vic. Stats are great but he still had some realy bad misses while unguarded. His shoot is shaky right now.

[onechance87]

A+ is a bit too much for Vic. Stats are great but he still had some realy bad misses while unguarded. His shoot is shaky right now.

thats why its important to get a pg or playmaker to help him get easy shots and get him in a rhythm

[Dhbsr555]

Solid rotation shaping up - Jones, Vassell, Johnson, Wemby, Collins
------------
Wesley, Branham, Bullock, McDermott, Osman on the backend
So sochan doesn’t even make rotation gtfoh

[HankChinaski]

Sissoko's lower body is ridiculous. He is physically built like a tank to absorb contact and fight for position easy. Like the potential there with him.

[heyheymymy]

I'd say Cissoko won the debate against Rupert tonight imo tbh.

It's very close but I'm intrigued on Sidy a bit more and glad that was the pick SA wound up getting.

[heyheymymy]

And I'm a Rayan guy and was going in so needless to say it's been kinda a roller coaster since draft night lol

[Fireball]

Nice bounce back game by Wemby!! Even his screening was better than in his first game. After game 1 expectations were lower so of course he does deserve an A+.

[playblair]

how is no one mentioning the pass cissoko made from behind his back..........

[polandprzem]

Hitting at a higher % than 7/12 is impossible ??
Not for me but for grades creator ��

Those kind of games for players happening in every game but what to expect from SL prospects while giving above expectations grade for one in generation?

Overall though it's good to see him being more comfortable in his 2nd SL game

[spursgu]

Thank you OP! I didnt see the game so this is a nice recap. :tu

[r0drig0lac]

this kid's potential is unbelievable

[duncan2150]

:lol Wesley.
His stoopid ball hogging three point chuck after Wemby brought us within 1 at 79-78 with 1:30.
Wemby was wide open.
Portland rebounds the brick and nails their own trey on a fluffer defensive switch job by the Spurs.
Pretty much game after that..

is that the only thing you saw about wesley ? imo he had a good game and except that first game he's fine imo

he needs to continue developping that ballhandling skills but i like what i saw overall

[exstatic]

He'll be the first player in NBA history with multiple quadruple doubles.

Of the four recorded, Hakeem has two, so, no.

[RC_Drunkford]

Wemby had a nice game

Branham was garbage, but just an off shooting night. He was so bad he tried to talk himself up during the game. His defense still doesn't exist. The concerning thing though is how many times he gets blocked at the rim.

Champagnie had an off night too, but contrary to Branham he at least stopped shooting and played D.

Barlow had another nice game. His midrange shot is legit, he runs the floor well and we already know what he does on defense. Kid is a keeper.

Wesley played well in the last quarter, but before that all he did on defense was letting his defender go by and try a wrap around steal. He needs like 2-3 more years of development.

Cissoko shocked me with his jump shots. His shot is just so inconsistent. If he can ever become a consistent shooter he's an NBA player. Just needs to stop fouling so much.

[baseline bum]

love that time reverse loop he did where he pivots and gets shut down so he just rewinds the tape backwards and shoots the other direction he first came from lol

Yeah that was a wild move. Seen him do it a few times on Mets92 too.

[baseline bum]

Of the four recorded, Hakeem has two, so, no.

Nah the four recorded were by Nate Thurmond, Alvin Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and David Robinson. No one has done it twice at least officially.

[Brazil]

Hitting at a higher % than 7/12 is impossible ??

I agree, it shows he is still a bit nervous, he is hitting FT at .80 last year.

[thiste]

A+ means no room for improvement for Wemby. Of course he was miles better than his first game.

Except you're not taking into account that Wemby can go as high as SSS+++, so don't worry he still has lots of room for improvement :lol

[Brazil]

This game Victor was much more comfortable, I liked his patience he did not force anything and played the right way. 27 12 and 3 in 27 min is a great stat line.

Also people who were calling him soft are fucking morons tbh... He is not afraid to draw contact, his blocks are not just in the perimeter but inside, he is a center who has range and handles but he is a center.

I'm with my nigg DAF86 on this one he is nothing like KD, the comparison is silly, they are both tall and skinny but that's about it.

[99 Problems]

As advertised. We are so fortunate. The hope and joy he has bought these last few weeks you couldn’t buy with unlimited funds.

[John B]

Nice game for Wemby. I wish it translated to a win, but still nice come back. It was important that Wemby gets the ball at the right spot. I like Branham (and Blake), but I think Tre would do a better job every night making sure Wemby would get touches.

Barlow played well. I’m happy that he was more active offensively last night. He needs to continue doing that.

The rest are okay. Just had a off-night shooting especially Champagnie and Branham. I’m not worried.

[The Truth #6]

Sounds like as expected: a great talent on a young team that is coming off a tanking season.

[MultiTroll]

is that the only thing you saw about wesley ? imo he had a good game and except that first game he's fine imo
What I'm seeing is yet another Kobme me ball type who are a dime a dozen in todays NBA.
His defensive effort too often looks weak too.

The game on the line play, where he went full on Kobme instead of hitting a wide open Victor....
So Wesley missed the shot, it happens. However it's the attitude that went into that play that speaks volumes.
If he can correct it and become a team player, fine.

I'll watch the next game with an open mind. So far eeesh this team has ZERO contributors and the big teams guards are pretty much ass too.
Otherwise i don't see him contributing to a Wemby Championship.

[wildbill2u]

:lol Wesley.
His stoopid ball hogging three point chuck after Wemby brought us within 1 at 79-78 with 1:30.
Wemby was wide open.
Portland rebounds the brick and nails their own trey on a fluffer defensive switch job by the Spurs.
Pretty much game after that..

The best solution for Wesley is a year in Austin learning how to make BB decisions at his pace. On that final missed 3 pt shot, he made a brain dead decision and should have been pulled for the remaining minute. Sometimes you got to whack a mule over the head with a 2x4 to get his attention. Shaming him at the end might have been the best option.

[John B]

As much as I want to see more of Wemby, I think the Spurs should just sit him from hereon and avoid any risk of injury. Last night was an effective game for him and should be enough. A lot of the opponents are raw, wanting to dunk on Wemby or what not to showoff and get noticed. He doesn’t need that. For the SL purpose, Blake, Barlow, Sidy and even Champagnie need the experience to get more aggressive. The SL is for them at this point.

[slick'81]

As much as I want to see more of Wemby, I think the Spurs should just sit him from hereon and avoid any risk of injury. Last night was an effective game for him and should be enough. A lot of the opponents are raw, wanting to dunk on Wemby or what not to showoff and get noticed. He doesn’t need that. For the SL purpose, Blake, Barlow, Sidy and even Champagnie need the experience to get more aggressive. The SL is for them at this point.


he most definitely does not need to risk injury in summer league

[John B]

he most definitely does not need to risk injury in summer league

I wince every time I see him hit the ground :lol I have to give to Wemby, the kid is not deterred. He will attack the rim, but it’s obvious he needs to get stronger. It’s safer to practice with the team at this point.

[callo1]

Don't know about he B+ for Sidy, but the rest looks alright.

Sidy left his feet far too often on defense, was late on rotations, and was overall just undisciplined.

I did like the offense though.

[CorrectCrusader]

Anyone else notice Jarace Walker’s face all night whenever he was matching up with Wemby? He had a “aint a thing I can do about that” look on his face all night LOL

Having a player that makes the opposing team feel helpless is oh so nice. In fact, i think it’s only Curry who imposes that feeling right now
Made him look like 5'7 me at the Y
"welp"

[Larry O]

My SL game observation with the players is that they had chemistry with one another and were rolling through teams until Wemby was inserted into the lineup. This seems to have disrupted the chemistry the team already had. Jul and Mal were having great games before Wemby arrived. If it's decided that Wemby will continue, I can see his game only improve even more, but team chemistry will have to include Wemby, which is a big factor going forward, and coaching staff will have to determine how they are going to run the offense... through Wemby, or just keep it simple with ball movement with the player who has the best look for scoring. Looked like the players, outside of Wemby, were very confident in winning it all at the SL, even without Wemby. It will be interesting to see what will happen going forward but I'm sure Wemby would like to continue to play on. It's been fun! GSG!!!

[GAustex]

^This here is my observation
Team was clicking before the big guy.
He shows up and things are not as smooth
Hopefully they can find that mojo for teamwork

[Dejounte]

Yeah, Wemby slows the pace down so that was a shift for these players. Along with probably more hesitation from them because they have to always think about passing it to Wemby every time they get into an offense. So the once cold blooded killer attitude we had from Champs had to be toned down because he’s thinking about another guy.

[wildbill2u]

If Wemby has good hands, why not go to the beautiful game with the ball moving around to open players. Of course, considering Wesley and Branham as starters, we probably don't have the personnel in SL to do this.

[rogcl1]

is that the only thing you saw about wesley ? imo he had a good game and except that first game he's fine imo

he needs to continue developping that ballhandling skills but i like what i saw overall

Wesley is not timid or scared. He is athletic and unafraid on both sides of the ball. Just turned 20 and raw. Whether these traits get refined and translate to a solid NBA role remains to be seen. That is why there is Summer League and D league.

[rjv]

Nah the four recorded were by Nate Thurmond, Alvin Robertson, Hakeem Olajuwon, and David Robinson. No one has done it twice at least officially.

it'd be great to see wemby eventually get one, if not for anything else, just to know that 60% of the players to have done so will have been spurs.

[John B]

My SL game observation with the players is that they had chemistry with one another and were rolling through teams until Wemby was inserted into the lineup. This seems to have disrupted the chemistry the team already had. Jul and Mal were having great games before Wemby arrived. If it's decided that Wemby will continue, I can see his game only improve even more, but team chemistry will have to include Wemby, which is a big factor going forward, and coaching staff will have to determine how they are going to run the offense... through Wemby, or just keep it simple with ball movement with the player who has the best look for scoring. Looked like the players, outside of Wemby, were very confident in winning it all at the SL, even without Wemby. It will be interesting to see what will happen going forward but I'm sure Wemby would like to continue to play on. It's been fun! GSG!!!

Last night was a conscious effort to incorporate Wemby, and in the process protect his image somewhat. So yes the whole chemistry was disrupted. There would be time to refine for the regular season. But for the sake of the SL, I think the Spurs need to sit down Wemby, and let Blake, Barlow, Sidy and Champagnie get more run and help their confidence and skills. At this point I think the SL will benefit those guys more than it would Wemby.

[Das Texan]

Wesley is so love/hate out there.

I"m either loving what he is doing or I"m wanting to throw my laptop through the window when watching him play.

There is literally no in between with him.

[Dex]

1678480056904204288

[Spursmania]

As most of suspected, Wemby is shut down from SL. So, they let the young guys ball and see what happens. Looking for a much better performance the next few games. And, now we have to wait 3 months before we see the "Frenchise" again.

[JPB]

The best solution for Wesley is a year in Austin learning how to make BB decisions at his pace. On that final missed 3 pt shot, he made a brain dead decision and should have been pulled for the remaining minute. Sometimes you got to whack a mule over the head with a 2x4 to get his attention. Shaming him at the end might have been the best option.

I don't know, and I'm not saying it's impossible, but how many guys who spent most of their 2 first years in G League really made it in the NBA? And he played some games last year in a tanking NBA team, no way he got that time in a competitive one. If Blake is mostly a G leaguer next year, then I believe it's over for him with the spurs and possibily the NBA.

[emanueldavidginobili]

Once Wemby settled down and got his confidence back it was over. The play where he drove baseline missed the shot got his own rebound and got the and 1 with contact was special. Also loved the play where he flashed to paint and immediately did a turn around jumper with no hesitation. The best thing of the night was when he got going in the 4th and the entire crowd was rooting for him, a crowd of fans of a bunch of different teams other than the Spurs.

The Spurs are going to have a ton of nationally televised games this year. Probably more than the big three ever had in one season tbh.

[D-Robinson 50 fan]

I know he is a fan favorite and I’ve already been told I just box score watch for speaking on this player, but I feel Barlow needs to be locked up by us and he should take Sandro Mamu’s spot. Lmao.


Barlow is only touching a small bit of his potential and he is already looking like a solid NBA role player. dude is a switchable big who can hit mid range jump shots. Every team needs a guy like that on their roster. He is young and a good athlete to boot. We need to lock this guy up with a deal similar to Champagnie in my opinion

[ambchang]

Of the four recorded, Hakeem has two, so, no.

Non if was Nate Thurmond, Alvin Robertson, hakeem then admiral. I believe one of Hakeem’s was rescinded and he got his real one a few weeks after that.