Four times, the Rockets will face Victor Wembanyama this season, and Ime Udoka’s players were eager to challenge the new NBA phenomenon. Absent during the first round Monday evening, the Spurs pivot was there on Wednesday, and the Rockets increased their approaches to defend on him. Dillon Brooks absent, it was Reggie Bullock who stuck there sometimes, as well as Jabari Smith Jr, Jermaine Samuel, Jae’Sean Tate or of course Alperen Sengun.
From the height of 1m95, Tate stuck to it in the first half, and “Wemby” did not take a shot. “ We know that all eyes are on him and that he is very demanding of himself” reacted the Rockets winger. “It’s the same for everyone in the NBA. Against a guy like him, with his wingspan and his size, you have to defend on him very early, because if he gets close to the rim, he’s going to wreak havoc.”
Remove him from the circle and challenge him physically
Same response from Smith who found himself facing him on both sides of the field. The “sophomore” of the Rockets noted that “Wemby’s” shot was “uncountable”. “It’s difficult because it’s not something you see every day, such size and his ability to shoot. We can’t really dispute that. You have to try to do your job beforehand, be physical with him and try to make it difficult for him. »
According to Udoka, one of the solutions is to stick a much smaller player, like Tate or Bullock, to harass him on his dribble and in his movements.
“Generally speaking, with the exception of a few mistakes, we played well against him,” believes the Rockets coach. “We wanted to take away his space on post-ups, force him to settle for a jump shot or a fadeaway. We used our power to push him back out. Personally, I am very comfortable with our small wingers who come up under him and push him out of his positions. Obviously it will be a difficult challenge, but we can be physical with him. »
A first conclusive overview
On arrival, Wembanyama finished with 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 blocks, and above all the victory. But in Houston, which was playing without three starters, we are satisfied with this first. “It was good to get a glimpse and see how it goes against him”Udoka concludes. “We wanted to see some different guys on him, guys that would have a chance to defend him. When they switched to small ball, they put four shooters around him, and Alpi was able to defend on him for a minute.”
But a priori, we shouldn’t see Sengun face the Frenchman again often during the season…
