Article: How are the Spurs trying to maximize Victor Wembanyama? By supersizing things

[PhantomDashCam]

https://sports.yahoo.com/how-are-the-spurs-trying-to-maximize-victor-wembanyama-by-supersizing-things-160316232.html

Some great details in this one on a running theme.


...The eye test and the numbers both bear out that the Spurs’ offense has functioned better with Jones on the floor than when Sochan has the keys.
This is unsurprising, considering the former hails from a family of table-setters (https://www.nbcsports.com/college-basketball/news/the-basketball-jones-tre-jones-tyus-jones-shadow) and finished in the top 15 in assist-to-turnover ratio last season (https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=c109eac4-825f-483e-8edf-51532ca9e7cb&siteId=us-sports&pageId=1p-autolink&featureId=text-link&merchantName=National+Basketball+Association&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVya XpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5uYmEuY29 tL3N0YXRzL3BsYXllcnMvYWR2YW5jZWQ_Q0Y9TUlOKkdFKjE1J lNlYXNvbj0yMDIyLTIzJlNlYXNvblR5cGU9UmVndWxhciUyMFN lYXNvbiZkaXI9LTEmc29ydD1BU1RfVE8iLCJjb250ZW50VXVpZ CI6ImJiMmUwNTJjLTI2ZDItNDliNS1hMjg4LWIyZTVmMTlmNjg 3YSJ9&signature=AQAAAVrWQxQgQl_VopFIY6CWskZl7a6M5iH0T_Sy urTxjF1T&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fstats%2Fpla yers%2Fadvanced%3FCF%3DMIN*GE*15%26Season%3D2022-23%26SeasonType%3DRegular%2520Season%26dir%3D-1%26sort%3DAST_TO&uuid=lHUoReGexSGhcQZI5330), while the latter — again, as he is happy to tell you — has never played point guard before these last few months.
(It also might explain why Jones is averaging more fourth-quarter (https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=c109eac4-825f-483e-8edf-51532ca9e7cb&siteId=us-sports&pageId=1p-autolink&featureId=text-link&merchantName=National+Basketball+Association&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVya XpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5uYmEuY29 tL3N0YXRzL3RlYW0vMTYxMDYxMjc1OS9wbGF5ZXJzLXRyYWRpd GlvbmFsP1BlcmlvZD00IiwiY29udGVudFV1aWQiOiJiYjJlMDU yYy0yNmQyLTQ5YjUtYTI4OC1iMmU1ZjE5ZjY4N2EifQ&signature=AQAAAeKaGP020BbFmRCwRxm-drkI7RgvH41QMO58uPIZPEt-&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fstats%2Ftea m%2F1610612759%2Fplayers-traditional%3FPeriod%3D4&uuid=lwIovXyZe2kSRiy76330) and “clutch” (https://shopping.yahoo.com/rdlw?merchantId=c109eac4-825f-483e-8edf-51532ca9e7cb&siteId=us-sports&pageId=1p-autolink&featureId=text-link&merchantName=National+Basketball+Association&custData=eyJzb3VyY2VOYW1lIjoiV2ViLURlc2t0b3AtVmVya XpvbiIsImxhbmRpbmdVcmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5uYmEuY29 tL3N0YXRzL3BsYXllcnMvY2x1dGNoLXRyYWRpdGlvbmFsP1RlY W1JRD0xNjEwNjEyNzU5JmRpcj1BJnNvcnQ9TUlOIiwiY29udGV udFV1aWQiOiJiYjJlMDUyYy0yNmQyLTQ5YjUtYTI4OC1iMmU1Z jE5ZjY4N2EifQ&signature=AQAAASE2MVEDtCD-xd_XeToFDL04WlbNcrCv48Jn2yYwQ5zR&gcReferrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fstats%2Fpla yers%2Fclutch-traditional%3FTeamID%3D1610612759%26dir%3DA%26sort %3DMIN&uuid=JfdjAhxqBVbVB0rX7330) minutes per game than Sochan; steadier hands for winning time, and all that.)
But while the Spurs already know that Jones can get them into sets and spoon-feed Wembanyama buckets, this season is primarily about exploring what they don’t know yet, and whether there might be greater gains to realize by exploring that uncertainty.
That’s one reason why Popovich hasn’t wavered in continuing to throw Sochan out there and let him play through his mistakes; it’s the essence of experimentation.

[Phenomanul]

Good read…

[ginobilized]

Great article, thanks!

[KingKev]

Balancing act. Coach Pop is the ultimate puppeteer. Sochan’s career is on the outside for the greater good.

[DAF86]

I get the experimenting but this was suppossed to be a fun season. Outside from a couple Wemby highlights this has been not fun at all.

Also, there's this belief that after experimenting, everything will go back to normal, but whose to say that after all this experimenting things don't get contaminated? Players lose confidence, gain bad habits, get numb to losing, etc.

I really don't understand the point of experimenting with things that everybody knows will not stick in the long run. Or is anyone seriously expecting Sochan to become Magic Johnson overnight and become the starting PG of the franchise for the next decade and a half?

They are just wasting time and risking long term damage, that's all they're doing here.