The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder have the best rivalry in the NBA, and Alex Caruso thinks he's figured out how to stop Victor Wembanyama.
In just his third NBA season, Victor Wembanyama has broken out as one of the best players in the league. Already the most talented defensive player of all time, he is also averaging a cool 24 points per game. On top of that, his versatile scoring allows him to post significantly more points on any given night.
However, calling him "polished" would be a bit of a stretch. He runs into traffic, sometimes takes questionable shots, and is prone to dribbling too high on the way to the paint. On top of that, his slender frame prevents him from being able to dominate on offense.
One of the league's best defenders spoke admiringly about Wemby's offense, but pointed out that there's plenty of room to grow.
Alex Caruso Breaks Down Wemby's Offense
This season, Wembanyama is averaging 24 points on 35.2% shooting from deep and 56.9% inside the arc. Against the Oklahoma City Thunder, his scoring numbers drop to 17.5 points, although his percentages remain about the same.
Between Alex Caruso, Ajay Mitchell, Jalen Williams, and Lu Dort, the Thunder have plenty of speedy and strong defenders who can exploit his limited weaknesses.
"Offensively, he's still really raw," explained Alex Caruso. "His length is an issue, but he's not as strong as a Giannis, or like a Jokic, a Sengun, or KD even, who will get to a spot and be balanced. He's influenceable in certain spots where he catches it, and how he has his footwork. So that's just something you got to take and use to your advantage because, as you said, he's seven-whatever and shoots it at nine feet. If he wants to get a shot off, he's gonna get a shot off."
It's not about stopping him from shooting, Casuro noted, but instead making the shots he takes not optimal. Wembanyama isn't strong enough to push defenders off their spot, and he doesn't have the tight handle to be able to create space against smaller wings and guards. Instead, he can only shoot over them.
With no hope of blocking a Wembanyama jumpshot, Caruso makes sure to keep him as far from the basket as possible.
"It's angles, positioning, and then getting to the spot and holding strong," he added. "Because if he gets to the spot and if he gets too close, he's gonna score because he's just taller and has more length. So I don't ever worry about him like blowing by me on a closeout, right? But he's gonna be able to shoot over me if he wants to. So you have to get tight enough to kind of stop him from getting into a comfortable shooting motion."
In four games this season, Wembanyama is shooting 51.1 aghainst thge Thunder but only 40% when guarded by Caruso. Clearly, his defensive strategy works. Fortunately, there aren't many players in the league who can find the same success.