Wemby Watch: Victor Has Another Bad Game in Loss to Magic

Story of the Game

As I started thinking of what to write, it hit me that Victor has been so good so fast that I forgot he’s susceptible to rookie struggles, too.

He just turned 20 this month and games #47 (vs. Wizards) and #48 (tonight) were the first two games where I actually thought he played bad.

The stats are still solid (21 points, 8 rebounds, 6 blocks), but Victor looked lost at times.

One negative indicator is during the Spurs final surge in the 4th quarter, when the Spurs were able to climb from 17 down to only behind by 3, Victor was on the bench. Pop rightfully let the group who brought the Spurs back stay on until they ran out of steam, re-inserting Victor at the 2:41 mark.

With the game in the balance, Victor immediately committed a turnover 11 seconds in (a low percentage pass to a cutting Devin Vassell) and then, a minute later, threw another stupid pass that was intercepted, sealing the Spurs fate.

Victor Stats

21 points, 3assists, 8 rebounds, 6 blocks in 30 minutes

7–15 fgs, 2–5 3 fgs

Quick Thoughts

It’s becoming more and more apparent to me that Victor fancies himself to be more of a Paul George / Kevin Durant type who can handle the ball and score from outside than he does a dominant inside presence with the ability to flex into perimeter play.

But Wemby will figure it out now or later that him dribbling and driving a lot is taking the harder, stupider route — one that will be much less successful.

The things that Victor naturally gravitates to — shooting from outside and putting the ball on the floor — are where the defense’s eyes light up like a Christmas tree.

Because that’s exactly what they want: Victor playing to his weaknesses.

Defenses can live happily with Victor shooting 30% from three and the Spurs not getting into their offense.

Defenses are also exstatic when Wemby starts to work on his And-1 mix tape because then he’s bringing the ball to where they can swipe at it and muddy things up.

Can Victor cross someone over?

Absolutely.

Can Victor nail three pointers?

Sure can.

But will the Spurs be successful with Victor handing the ball a lot and fading back to the three point line — no.

Victor needs to make the following changes:

• Get closer to the basket for more of this shots
• Forget dribbling unless he has a clear path
• Forego long passes unless there’s a teammate open for a layup downcourt
• Stop working his way into disadvantageous positions (e.g., getting stuck under the basket) when posting up
• Don’t bring the ball low, keep it high
• Go up stronger and reduce reliance on the finesse game
• Stop rushing shots, get under control

In tonight’s game, the Spurs came out razor sharp and got out to an early cushion against the Magic.

However, the Spurs advantage was short lived and the Magic methodically worked their way to a 25-point margin before the Spurs began chipping away late in the third quarter.

The Spurs had an incredible flurry late — including some impressive defensive stops — to nearly steal the game, but the Magic regained their composure just in time.

Here are some of my notes:

Julian Champagnie Needs to Go

First, Julian Champagnie was horrible and it shows in the box score. He was 0/4 from the field with two missed threes to go along with 0 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals, and 1 turnover in 20 minutes.

There was one possession (6:18 in the first quarter) where the Spurs were bringing the ball in off a score and Champagnie was careless once, causing the Spurs to almost lose the ball, and then he followed up with another lackadaisical effort right after which there was a turnover.

He did this same thing earlier in the season, only it resulted in back-to-back turnovers for the Spurs.

And what I really have a problem with is he has this aloof demeanor / look on his face that looks like he doesn’t even register that because of his carelessness, the team just lost the ball.

I want this guy off the team. If you can’t be bothered to protect the ball, the Spurs shouldn’t be bothered to roster you.

I just found out the Spurs signed him to a 4 year, $12,000,000 contract. Ugh.

You have to be aware and alert at all times during an NBA game. You can’t ebb in and out of paying attention or you’ll inevitably falter. Champagnie illustrates this perfectly.

Victor Ignored to Start the 4th

To start the fourth quarter, the Spurs had an inkling of momentum, but then we saw a movie that the theaters played on repeat to start the season: Victor’s teammates ignored him.

Victor made one three to start the quarter and never got another shot.

I believe it was Cedi Osman, Tre Jones, and Malaki Branham who all decided they were going to be heroes tonight and stupidly drove down the lane into Jonathan Isaac’s waiting defense. Of course, none of them converted and Cedi and Malaki got swatted.

Sign Dominick Barlow

I really, really like Dominick Barlow. He’s such an unassuming backup center but he’s so good at what he does. He had one sequence where he made a nice push shot and then followed that up with a steal on defense which led to a Spurs bucket.

He’s smart. He tries hard. He knows his role. He puts the ball in the basket.

Hoops Hype has him on a one year contract for $559,782.

What a value. What a money ball player.

What was intriguing was he was in the game alongside Victor at one point because he was shooting free throws when Victor subbed in. I’d like to see more playing time for this tandem.

I bet they fit really nicely together and fortify the defense.

Bullet Points

• Jeremy Sochan had some bad moments, but he had some really, really good ones too. The talent for a special Polish-Swiss Army knife is very much there.
• Joe Engles is noticeably out of shape.
• The Wagner brothers are good but complain way too much.
• Doug McDermott’s “dry” spell really deadened the Spurs momentum on their initial push late in the third quarter. He missed two open threes, two free throws, and had a shot clock violation. That’s an extremely horrible stretch. If he’s able to do anything right, it would have given the Spurs a much better chance.
• The Magic have a roster filled with talent and look somewhat legitimate, they just need to advance to a level higher and they’ll be more in the mix.
• Jamahl Mosley looked like a real coach. I have no idea if he’s good, but the Magic came off as organized and fairly cohesive.
• Pop coached to win, again. I’m starting to think the Spurs called the tanking off.

Pre-game Setup

The Orlando-Spurs matchup is game #48 for the Spurs.

Betting: Magic -6.5, Over/Under 225.5

(Guess-Prediction: I’ll take the Spurs and the over.)

Betting Record going into the game 34–31–1.

The Magic are in San Antonio for this contest.