Wemby Watch: Victor The Kool-Aid Man Bursts into Scotiabank Arena, Spurs Claw Raptors

Victor burst through his mini-rookie wall with an immense performance, ending with a triple double (points, rebounds, and blocks) and leaving Scotiabank Arena buzzing after a Spurs blowout win.

But it wasn’t just Victor pouring in big numbers. The Spurs received strong contributions from:

• Keldon Johnson
• Jeremy Sochan
• Tre Jones
• Devin Vassell

This time it was the Spurs who pulled away and were never really threatened.

The caveat of the Raptors being watered down after the trade subtractions of Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby definitely applies as a qualifier, but the win still counts; the Spurs played Toronto’s roster that still featured Scottie Barnes and Jakob Poeltl among other solid players (and the Raptors were 6 point favorites).

Victor Stats

27 points, 5 assists, 14 rebounds, 10 blocks in 29 minutes

10–14 fgs, 2–4 3 fgs

Quick Thoughts

If you’re ever reading this column and wondering what standard I hold Victor to, this game was around that marker.

Yes, Wemby made mistakes — the 7 turnovers shows you he wasn’t on his A+ game, but who cares?

Mistakes happen.

Bad passes. Bad shots. Missed rotations.

All of that happens, especially when you’re 20 years old.

Here’s what especially bothers me:

• low effort
• playing soft
• playing stupid

But this game was yet another showcase that shows Victor can dominate the game. It’s a nice reminder because it’s been a while since we saw this version of Victor.

Other thoughts:

• I believe Scottie Barnes scored 0 in the first half against the Spurs in their earlier contest. I don’t follow Toronto, but watching him against the Spurs, I don’t see anyone resembling a franchise player.
• Jakob Poeltl is actually a guy who would be interesting next to Wemby. Jakob set the tone for the game by opening with a driving right into the body of Victor for a layup attempt, but he was blocked.
• Jeremy Sochan looked really good, again.
• I don’t see why Devin Vassell can’t be Jamal Murray to Victor’s Nikola Jokić.
• The Charlotte Hornets won again tonight, giving them two in a row and putting them at 12 wins to the Spurs 11. Hopefully the Spurs can eclipse the Trail Blazer (15 wins) along with Buzz City.
• Matt Bonner called the game and said that Victor hadn’t gone through the rookie wall yet which makes me think he doesn’t watch many Spurs games when he’s not on the call.

Pre-game Setup

The Toronto-San Antonio matchup is game #54 for the Spurs.

Betting: Raptors -6.0, Over/Under 236.5

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

Betting Record going into the game 35–40–1.

The Spurs traveled to Toronto for this contest.