ESPN article on Wemby Year 2

[SpurPadre]

My apologies if this has been posted already: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/41792681/victor-wembanyama-offseason-transformation-scary-nba


The most surprising part for me was that he’s been practicing with former player Jamal Crawford: “"It was my first time working for this long with a retired actual NBA player," he said. "The view he has of the game is different from a coach."

I mean, hasn’t he practiced with TD and Manu before? Hell, I could’ve sworn he’s practiced with Bobo too.

[spursparker9]

My apologies if this has been posted already: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/41792681/victor-wembanyama-offseason-transformation-scary-nba


The most surprising part for me was that he’s been practicing with former player Jamal Crawford: “"It was my first time working for this long with a retired actual NBA player," he said. "The view he has of the game is different from a coach."

I mean, hasn’t he practiced with TD and Manu before? Hell, I could’ve sworn he’s practiced with Bobo too.

Key word is "working for this long..."

[Spurs Homer]

I know it was preseason….

but i didnt like the way wemby moved if in fact he gained 25 pounds…
hope it was just rust…but he looked less coordinated and fluid than last season…

[Frenchfred]

I know it was preseason….

but i didnt like the way wemby moved if in fact he gained 25 pounds…
hope it was just rust…but he looked less coordinated and fluid than last season…

personally, I saw the same as last year: bad TOs, bad 3-point shooting and good defense. He needs to improve his shooting a la Durant and become a consistent threat with his jumpshot

[Fireball]

personally, I saw the same as last year: bad TOs, bad 3-point shooting and good defense. He needs to improve his shooting a la Durant and become a consistent threat with his jumpshot

yeah he was phoning it in ... I probably would too if I knew I would only play for a few minutes ... and if he actually tried I did not see any improvements either

[Spurs Homer]

personally, I saw the same as last year: bad TOs, bad 3-point shooting and good defense. He needs to improve his shooting a la Durant and become a consistent threat with his jumpshot


maybe ^ that too...

but I am referring to the way he moved and his lack of quickness, lack of jumping ability, maybe had one lazy looking block -
his defensive moves looked slower -

To my eye - he was not properly carrying this added weight -

reminded me of a boxer- after they gained weight to fight in a heavier class and going for more mass/power but losing their quickness/speed

really concerning and hoping im wrong.

[tbdog]

Tbh, Wemby didn't nt have a good pre season. The games don't mean much and he just steps up for big games. That's what I hope what I'm seeing. He didn't show much effort really. Going through the motions. Let's find out in a few days time.

[Frenchfred]

Tbh, Wemby didn't nt have a good pre season. The games don't mean much and he just steps up for big games. That's what I hope what I'm seeing. He didn't show much effort really. Going through the motions. Let's find out in a few days time.

Totally agree, also he played in the Olympics so he didn't have as much time to work on his game. I think that people should not have expectations too high for him this year. I believe that his numbers won't be much better compared to last year. Durant didn't develop into a superstar in two years either and Wemby has already more potential defensively.

[BackHome]

Yeah his main focus was on the French team will see some improvements but nothing drastic but with a Paul he should see his percentages get better

[dn0774]

I know it was preseason….

but i didnt like the way wemby moved if in fact he gained 25 pounds…
hope it was just rust…but he looked less coordinated and fluid than last season…

He didn’t gain 25 pounds this off season, that number was mentioned as what he has gained since he was drafted.

[dn0774]

Wemby didn’t exactly appear locked in towards playing efficient competitive basketball in his 2 preseason games given his 3 point chucking and between defenders legs stuff. Given that, I am guessing the coaching staff opted to hold him out against Houston if they felt he wasn’t getting meaningful reps in. Pop mentioned after Miami that the plan was for Wemby to play a few more mins than he did against Miami against Houston but then he ends up a scratch entirely…kinda odd.

[Spurs Homer]

He didn’t gain 25 pounds this off season, that number was mentioned as what he has gained since he was drafted.

ok good- thanks for the correction- I sure hope he did not gain 25 pounds from season 1 to season 2 as that might be something that would not bode well for overall health

i hope what i saw was just a little rust and not having game legs yet

thanks!

[Tyronn Lue]

Victor is a phenom. Barring injury he's going to be a big problem for a lot of teams. I cannot imagine he regresses with more experience and working out with Crawford and Chris Paul.

[ambchang]

I’m not sure about learning shot selection from Crawford is a good thing.

[TheBallsbreakers]

The Spurs, and Wemby, know better than to go balls-to-the-wall in preseason games just to assuage Spurstalk's fears.

[exstatic]

The Spurs, and Wemby, know better than to go balls-to-the-wall in preseason games just to assuage Spurstalk's fears.

People here would bitch about preseason when T,T,and M were winning championships.

[Frenchfred]

The Spurs, and Wemby, know better than to go balls-to-the-wall in preseason games just to assuage Spurstalk's fears.

So he missed his 3 pointers and turned the ball over on purpose? Of course, it is preseason and we are not expecting him to dive to catch out of bound balls

[exstatic]

So he missed his 3 pointers and turned the ball over on purpose? Of course, it is preseason and we are not expecting him to dive to catch out of bound balls
He missed because he wasn’t focused because it didn’t matter.

[Ice009]

Yeah, I'm guessing the preseason means nothing to him. His focus wasn't there. I don't think TD cared much for the preseason at all when he played. I think we'll see a different focus when the games start counting.

[polandprzem]

Wembanyama tallied those before toiling for months this summer refining his body, packing 25 pounds of muscle onto his physique.


That's Wembanyama's own personal conundrum, too, finding ways to coax the most from his body and skill set. The second-year man gained strength over the summer to prevent opponents from easily pushing him off his spots.
As a by-product, Wembanyama added an additional 25 pounds from his listed rookie weight of 210 pounds.
That has helped Wembanyama to improve accuracy through contact.


I do like those quotes. Esp. when it is exactly what I was saying a year ago about him making that progress this year :D

[TheBallsbreakers]

He missed because he wasn’t focused because it didn’t matter.
Exactly. I need to keep slapping my gonads from time to time to remind myself Spurstalk is the ultimate watering hole for overreacting virgins.

[Chomag]

I think he was just coasting a bit in the preseason and I expect him to turn it up a few notches when season starts. We did get to see flashes of how much easier his game will flow with CP3 running the offense.

He does still need to improve on his shot selection though but I feel that he will get better and better at that as the season goes.

[Chomag]

Cp3 is such an odd player as a Spurs fan to cheer on. I've always hated him throughout his career and saw him as a flopping bitch, but what I've always known and respected of him is that the dude can flat out ball and delegate an entire offense

Thankfully he seems to have toned down the flopping a ton as he's aged so it's easier to look past that now.