Beaten for a seventh time in a row, the Spurs are sinking in the rankings (3 wins – 9 losses) and it is very difficult to draw conclusions about this young team after these first 12 matches.
Often overwhelmed away from home, they are on the other hand more in the game at home, where they alternate between good and bad. Like Victor Wembanyama (19.3 points on average at 44% success including 28% at 3-points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.2 blocks and 3.9 turnovers in 30 minutes on average) whose selection of shots and bullet losses raise questions. But for Gregg Popovich, we are in the observation phase of the “Wemby Project”.
No predefined route plan
“I don’t want to follow a road map, because there isn’t one” explains the technician at the San Antonio Express-News. “He does special things. He does other things that I wouldn’t want him to do. But I correct him very little because I need to learn where he feels comfortable on the field. »
For the 74-year-old coach, this phase is necessary, even if it may seem surprising from the outside.
“Once you learn all these things, then you can start cleaning, drawing, repairing and polishing some things. But for now, I need to learn more about him, instead of trying to control everything and telling him, ‘So you’re going to do A, B, C and D'”
That’s not to say there aren’t guidelines and the Spurs are doing absolutely anything, but as with the “Point Sochan” project, Gregg Popovich is waiting until he’s seen enough to draw definitive conclusions. .
Preferences to understand in order to use them
Recently, he nevertheless reminded his players that with a 2m22 player (2m26 with shoes) with a wingspan of 2m43, the lob option should only be considered as a last resort.
“We did a good job on that side during the summer and in preseason. Since the season started, we’ve done it a lot less. So we talked about it, to remind them that we had this asset” recognizes Pop.
The Spurs also noted that Victor Wembanyama was, for example, more comfortable on the left, when he receives the ball in the low post, which is not really the norm for a right-hander.
“We have to observe him a little to see where he naturally performs best” concludes Gregg Popovich. “That’s where putting systems in place for him will be appropriate.” But we are not imposing any paradigm on it. »
