The New York Knicks weren't able to neutralize Victor Wembanyama in the NBA Finals, but they were able to contain him. That strategy won't work in the regular season, though.
In his first five NBA Finals games with the San Antonio Spurs, Victor Wembanyama was fantastic. He averaged 26 points and 11.2 rebounds, with 3.6 blocks for good measure.
However, "fantastic" isn't exactly the standard. "Tremendous," "never-seen-before," and "generational" are the expectations for Wemby. The New York Knicks did a decent job of limiting his impact, and it was clear as the series went on that Wembanyama was getting tired.
Over those five games, he shot under 50 percent from the floor and just 27.3 percent from 3-point range. The Knicks did a better job than anyone in the NBA of making The Alien look human. However, it's not sustainable over an 82-game season.
Why Victor Wembanyama Will Roar Back
After finishing third in MVP voting in just his third NBA season, Wembanyama is expected to firmly plant himself as the best player in the world this season.
The Knicks were able to expose some weaknesses by drawing him into defensive actions early in the shot clock and tiring him out, but that's not sustainable.
"That whole series, he was getting off-balance with shot fakes and getting beat on closeouts," an unnamed scout told Sports Illustrated. "OG Anunoby did a great job finishing against him at the rim, using him as a protection, stuff like that. So I'd be curious to see if teams take the same approach the Knicks did during the regular season when you don't have much time to prepare. But they really tired him out by just moving him around, attacking him. They were putting him in ball screens early in the possession, which is kind of the thing that common sense would tell you not to do. But they would put him in that screen, move him around, and I thought they did a good job of wearing him out.”
Now, the Knicks could have very easily lost Game 1 and then gone on to win the series. The Spurs were favored in the Finals, and with Games 1 and 2 in San Antonio, New York didn't fully expect to steal the first two contests.
In short, their plan to involve Wembanyama and tire him out was meant to last seven games. In the regular season, opponents don't have the luxury of dropping a game and then getting to run things back against the same opponent in the next game.
They won't be able to slowly chip away at Wemby. Instead, they have to impose an all-or-nothing mentality.
Nine times out of ten, Wembanyama should be able to dominate. The Knicks got the better of them, but that remains a fluke.
