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Is Poland smarter than two HOF players?
http://https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7PTBAITynjA
Poland with theI coach basket, I know better... it's obvious to a pro that Wemby is a bad rebounder and an overrated pos
Is Poland smarter than two HOF players?
http://https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7PTBAITynjA
https://www.espn.com/nba/stats/playe...ounds/dir/desc
so except for 6 players, the entire NBA sucks at rebounding.
he's also #1 in the league in defensive rebounding % (and block %)
wemby out vs bucks
given he is not on the list, looks like Barlow will be active. probably will see a good amount of Mamu as well
Poland isn't smarter than half an average player.
True but honestly wemby can’t play 40 minutes a game at this point
After stretchs of 6 or 7 minutes he looks gased and is less efficient
I blame the spurs for a lot of things (no real point guard etc) but I totally agree to play him only 30 minutes a game
He should rest more games too. 70 games is already crazy for a 19 year old with this kind of body and who will play all summer for the olympics
He didn’t play at all for France last summer, and the Olympics are n 2024, next summer.
Brook Lopez got 6 blocks tonight. Wemby at least needs to match that on Thursday to keep pace with him.
Wemby showing Sochan how to do it
Victor Wembanyama is turning foes into fans: ‘He’s really freaking good’
The Athletic
By Darnell Mayberry
Dec 22, 2023
When the official lofted a jump ball at tipoff for the San Antonio Spurs–Chicago Bulls game, the Victor Wembanyama effect was felt immediately.
Bulls center Nikola Vučević, listed at 6 foot 10, didn’t bother to jump.
“When you play against him,” Vučević said, “you almost have to recalibrate yourself.”
Vučević allowed San Antonio’s 7-4 rookie phenom to win the uncontested tap, only for Bulls guard Alex Caruso to swoop in to steal the tip. It was one of several unconventional strategies the Bulls were forced to employ in their 114-95 home win Thursday.
“He’s just a different type of talent,” Bulls guard Coby White said. “I’ve never been on the floor with someone like that. Like I always say, I try not to take those things for granted. He’s going to be really, really good in the coming years. Obviously, he’s really freaking good at basketball.”
Even on his worst night yet, Wembanyama still made his opponents marvel.
Playing on a minute restriction after missing Tuesday’s game at Milwaukee with right ankle soreness, Wembanyama scored seven points on eight shots, both season lows, in 22 minutes. He added five rebounds, five assists, two steals and three blocks. But it was far from the dominant, 21-point, 20-rebound performance he crafted against the Bulls two weeks earlier in San Antonio.
“My ankle is fine. I don’t feel it at all,” Wembanyama said after the game. “There’s some games like that. I’m not trying to force anything. I’m trying to make my teammates plays. I could sacrifice all my shots and take zero shots if it was for the best of our team.”
Wembanyama attempted only three shots in Thursday’s first half. Yet the Spurs trailed by only four at the break. The Bulls missing 13 of their first 14 3-pointers had a lot to do with the game still being within reach. But so did the Wemby effect.
Twenty seconds after Vučević didn’t leave his feet for the jump ball, he didn’t jump or shoot the ball high enough on a floater attempt. With his 8-foot wingspan, Wembanyama promptly closed the gap and got a paw on the ball for the block.
“You know, most guys, if you do certain things you’re going to be able to get (the shot) off,” Vučević said. “With him, his length is so impressive. The first floater I had, I usually get that off, but he just blocked it. So that’s a big thing. I was talking to A.C. about the pocket passes. Usually, they’re there. And tonight he was getting his hands on them early on. So that first part is something you just have to adjust to because he’s so unique and he’s so mobile. It’s not like he’s just a big stiff. He can move.”
Bulls coach Billy Donovan had to adjust too. He found a more favorable matchup with Andre Drummond and rode the reserve center for a season-high 19 minutes. Drummond responded with 17 points, eight rebounds, five steals and two blocks.
“I did think the physicality of Andre (helped) on both ends of the floor,” Donovan said. “When (Wembanyama) was trying to cut and move, the physicality when he tried to get a little bit closer to the basket, Andre holding him up. Then I think even though at times maybe Andre didn’t get the ball, him occupying him physically where he had to work to get around in front of him or he got pinned behind him, those things helped us. Because clearly, he was a factor at the basket and certainly blocked a lot of shots.”
White couldn’t believe Wembanyama’s shot-blocking ability.
“It’s crazy the amount of shots he alters on defense,” he said.
White considered himself fortunate to get a bucket on Wembanyama after using a six-dribble sequence to shake free of him. The point guard conceded that he got away with one on what appeared to be a gorgeous play early in the third quarter.
“I probably fouled him,” White said. “They could have called a foul because I held his arm on the sweep-through. Because I knew if I didn’t he was probably going to block it. Just having to do that in your mind when he’s on you disrupts you as an offensive player. So, yeah, I made a nice move or whatever. But probably eight times out of 10, he’s probably blocking that or meeting me at the rim and altering that shot.”
But it wasn’t only Wembanyama’s defense that stood out. Even in limited minutes, his versatility kept the Bulls off balance. He launched a stepback 3 and a series of pull-up jumpers. He caught and finished an over-the-top pass in transition with an authoritative dunk, as well as a dump-off from Cedi Osman for a three-point-play opportunity. He even tried a late post-up move against the 6-6 Caruso.
Wembanyama’s passing popped too. He threw darts to teammates for assists, making difficult dishes look effortless if not miraculous for a player his size, still two weeks shy of his 20th birthday. After his presence forced Vučević to yield at tipoff, and after he set the tone with the opening-possession block against Vooch, Wemby led a fast break. He pounded five dribbles, stopped at the 3-point line and slipped a feathery-soft bounce pass to Malaki Branham for an uncontested dunk.
Minutes later, he dribbled into the frontcourt and lobbed a pinpoint pass into the paint to Keldon Johnson for a continuation layup. He later got fancy in the third quarter, leading a run-out and drawing five Bulls defenders before whipping an over-the-head pass to Jeremy Sochan for another uncontested dunk.
To Wemby, it was just another assist.
“Not rocket science,” he said. “I saw the defender coming toward me, and I just looked in the opposite direction to put Jeremy in my blind side so that he doesn’t think I saw him — I did.”
Wembanyama’s combination of size, skill, smarts and selflessness on the court already has made his rivals believers. Now opponents have become curious observers. The Bulls are scheduled to see Wembanyama and the Spurs for the last time in three weeks in San Antonio. They wouldn’t be surprised if by then Wemby develops into a bigger headache.
“He’s such a unique player,” Donovan said. “The scoring for him is going to eventually come. It’s probably a huge adjustment for him, the physicality of the NBA, certainly the length and the skill set. He’s going to become a more consistent jump shooter. He gets good looks. He’ll make more shots. He’s learning. He’s young. I know he played professionally overseas. Coming here is a lot different. And he’ll figure it out. But there’s things that he’s done in games that are pretty remarkable.”
Vučević complimented Wembanyama’s poise.
“He doesn’t overdo things. He doesn’t rush things,” Vučević said. “He’s still so young and trying to figure it out, his body and everything. But for his first 25 games he’s played so far, he’s been very impressive to watch him adapt. He’s obviously going to be a great player for a long time.”
One that requires rare in-game strategy.
“You never see it other than when we play him,” Vučević said. “For one game, you really have to adjust.”
he's right. vic has to simplify his game rn
Lamarcus is the last person who’s advice on ‘clutch’ I’d take.
lamarcus is one of the most effective scorers of the last 2 decades. i think theres plenty of advice he could offer
He's just mad that he never got over himself. Ex would rather Wemby take advice from a company man like Bonner than one of the best 4s of his generation
It ain’t that. He’s a quitter. 38YO Tim Duncan ground him to dust on the practice court, to the point he said this, and left. If you want to know who LMA is, watch all of the footage from the GS series after Kawhi was injured. He quit on the team, didn’t even try. ing mailed it in. He’s mentally weak.He's just mad that he never got over himself. Ex would rather Wemby take advice from a company man like Bonner than one of the best 4s of his generation
Playing basketball like LaMarcus when you are 6'11+ is how you fail to reach the highest heights. Even when your jumper is falling, you still are not routinely creating the gravity that a combo post-scorer and post-defender does. Gotta be a big-man first and primarily.
Nobody is saying to transplant aldridges brain into Wembys body and copy everything about him. But guy knew how to score effectively for a long in time and made a great career out of it and you are acting like wemby has nothing to learn from him.
Aldridge was about as efficient from the field as Duncan for their careers. Heck he was more efficient than duncan within 3 feet from the rim and just as efficient between 3 and 10 feet. There’s plenty to learn from him. Especially wemby who currently doesn’t have the strength to constantly bully guys near the restricted area
Never understood the aldridge hate
or
the kawhitter love tbh
how many blocks per game would wemby average with the grizzlies scorekeeper tbh?
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