Wemby Watch: Victor Horrible in Loss to Mavs, Spurs Fall To Pieces
I fully expected Victor and the Spurs to showcase new developments in their game. Instead, we saw familiar, undesireable themes from last season re-emerge.
Victor Horrible
Victor looked like he lost his balance and agility — at one point, he even fell down while dribbling. This was an all-around horrible season opener for him. He never felt like a dominant, imposing presence. Rather, he more came across like a rookie trying to make their mark in their first NBA game.
The game was close for a while, but with Victor turning in basically a doughnut performance, the Mavs easily cruised away with the game. With Victor unable to score or create offense for his teammates, the Spurs simply didn’t have enough to keep pace.
I didn’t see any obvious reason why Victor would struggle so mightily, but he was absolutely awful. I thought he’d make a statement on opening night, but not this statement.
Victor Keeps Shooting Threes
Victor finished 1–8 from three, continuing to launch threes even though he wasn’t hitting. I mostly hate when Victor shoots threes. First, he’s not that good of a three point shooter. Second, he cedes over his advantage to the defense. The defense loves when he acquiesces and floats beyond the arc because it takes pressure off them.
No Plan for Victor
Again, I thought the Spurs would come out sharp and Pop would have some crisp plays that freed Victor up. That didn’t happen.
Instead, any sets just resulted in Victor with the ball and no advantage on offense. Yes, Victor did play horrible, but the Spurs offense didn’t result in him getting many advantageous positions.
Gregg Popovich must figure out how to get Victor open space. Early last year I was lobbying for the Spurs to become more of a running team. I’m still lobbying.
Chris Paul Not Bringing Up Ball
What was also bothersome to me is the Spurs had back-to-back turnovers from Julian Champagnie and Jeremy Sochan because they were bringing the ball up the court. When Chris Paul was playing.
Why is Chris Paul not bringing the ball up the court? He’s a real point guard that was right there. Why are we back to adventures just trying to bring the ball across half court without a turnover?
Klay Thompson Was a Horrible Signing
I know he had a good game, but Klay Thompson has been done for 2–3 seasons. I don’t know why he was such a coveted free agent and I don’t know how he commanded 3-years, $50 million, but I think he’s going to fall apart again.
He’s lost his athleticism. He’s somewhat delusional. And he’s definitely too emotional. That won’t go away just because he switched teams.
Refs Majorly Favor Mavs
The Mavs got away with a lot of fouls. Two egregious misses off the top of my head:
- Derek Lively hitting Chris Paul from behind, causing a turnover.
- Jeremy Sochan being bodied and hit on his arm on a layup/dunk and no call.
