Despite putting up an NBA playoff record, Spurs' Victor Wembanyama took blame for a lopsided loss.
It’s always hard to swallow when an individual great performance is incongruent with the final score, but that’s what the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama are reckoning with following Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals. Wembanyama shattered an NBA playoff record with 12 blocks but felt that he could’ve spread his effort out in a better way. Ultimately, his historic night on defense was overshadowed by struggles on offense and a mismanagement of energy in the Spurs’ 104-102 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves to go down 1-0 in the series.
Wemby set a record with his 12 blocks, and he also added 11 points and 15 rebounds on the night. He is only the third player in playoff history to post a triple-double with blocks, joining Andrew Bynum and Hakeem Olajuwon. He also became the youngest franchise player to record a triple-double in the playoffs, surpassing Tim Duncan in 2002. However, his locked-in nature on blocks – racking up seven by halftime – may have led to his offensive output taking a downturn.
Wembanyama had his lowest shooting percentage in the playoffs at 29 percent and went 0-for-8 from the three, which is the most deep shots without a make by a player in franchise history. He was rattled by Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle. Wembanyama felt like he could’ve used his energy in better ways to help the team in the end.
To read more about San Antonio’s Game 1 collapse and Wembanyama’s accountability, here is the full story from Spurs Roundtable writer Nick Teague.
It wasn’t just Wemby, as the Spurs entered the semifinals series shooting 42 percent from the three – and only connected on 27.8 percent in Game 1. But Wemby was quick to take the blame. Dylan Harper is confident that he will bounce back, and Wemby knows that gaining an offensive grasp back will hold the keys to a Game 2 win.