I will say, the three (basically 4) guard line up was a little rocky but got it together. One thing I dislike… When there are basically FOUR guards out there Wemby should never be the main ball handler bringing up the ball. 😂
Yeah, people were saying he should be coached out of the three. I disagree. When he’s hot from 3, he’s Ray Allen. Those games are good.
He SHOULD be coached out of bringing the ball up the court. It’s just silly when we’re starting 3 PG’s and an SG. And we’ve lost Finals games because of it.
Only time he should dribble up the court is when he gets a steal and is on a break ahead of most of the pack in transition. Otherwise it can create some unnecessary confusion and unfortunately we saw it in a crucial possession in the finals last year.
You also have to look at his build. He's built like Durant, not Shaq. Trying to do Shaq things when you are built like Durant wears him down. We used to defend Shaq with Malik Rose, because he was strong and had a lower center of gravity, which gave him some advantage. EVERYONE has a lower center of gravity than Wemby. Having to fight against that when he is at a big strength disadvantage is going to wear him out. He obviously needs to spend time in the paint, but he also needs to pick his spots. He's never going to spend the majority of him time grinding on the blocks, that is never going to be who he is. He is not built for that.
I don't think he's ever going to be some paint monster, but his aversion some games to being in the paint, imo, comes down to his habits and comfort being on the perimeter rather than his build. Wemby's best games have been when he gets quick touches in the paint and makes a decisive move to the basket instead of showing off his handle and range (immensely entertaining, just not winning basketball). He'd be more consistent on offence if he played more like a stretch 4 like Celtics KG.
I wish we had a physical forward in the low post to help get Victor easier touches near the rim. The all guard lineup last night was fun to watch, but they'll absolutely get exposed in the playoffs against bigger lineups.
He is build more like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar but wants to play like KD.
The reality is that Wemby needs to be Wemby, not a KD fanboy copy cat, not a Kareem clone, etc. Wemby is just not as fast and smooth and guard-like as KD … AND THATS OKAY! He is fast and smooth for a 7’5”+ center though. He has god-like defensive timing, reach and speed. His offense should be going over and around most people but off the dribble pull-ups at his size are not his most effective move.
He needs to find his things that work and are unstoppable… and so far the moments emulating KD hasn’t been it. IMHO.
If Wemby could find TWO quick attack go-to shots: baby/sky hook, turnaround fade, off the dribble dribble floater, a pick and pop high release jumper, or one of the standard on the block moves like a face up bank or a drop step, and hit 2-3 each per game… his offense goes to another level. Automatic unstoppable 10 points per game plus the rest of his bag that teams would have to respect.
EDIT: and for gods sake the outlet pass to one of like 3-4 namely talented guards will lead to magic. The Big Fun school of outlet passing should be open.
I agree that he needs to be himself. I think he pulls from a lot of things and wants a ridiculously varied repertoire. The hook isn't all that easy, but I know he has worked on it.
I think we should see some off ball rim rolling. I would like to see like Tobias screen at the top and pop back (39% 3pt shooter above the break) then Castle pick away so Wemby can roll away from the ball and have both Fox and Wemby attacking downhill. In general, I want to get away from Wemby setting screens (he's an awful screen setter and it gives guards license to hit him in the knees) and I think that is part of the reason why they added Quaintance and Reed.
As Harper and Castle continue to emerge, Wemby will have to work less hard on offense to get his shots while maintaining some of the strongest gravity in the league.
I don't think that he necessarily wants to just emulate Durant, because his game encompasses a lot more than that, but I think his biggest problem was wearing down and having more big bodies in the playoffs will help that. The Spurs really didn't have a real PF and that wore Wemby down, especially against the Wolves and Knicks. Then they went out and got big bodies in Tobias, Reed, and Quaintance to help that out.
Wemby shot 63% TS and averaged 31/14/4/4 per 36. I think what he is doing is progressing the right way. The Spurs need to do a better job of giving him strong players to help, because he will always be a finesse center.
KD has played 1200 games in his NBA career and Embiid has played fewer than 500 in 12 NBA seasons. Embiid has topped 65 games just twice and has never reached 70 games or the Finals. Durant is the better all time player with two rings. It's clear that the path of Durant is more advantageous and Wemby is never going to be a 275lb behemoth like Embiid, nor should he be.
He needs to be more responsible with the basketball and take better shots. Assuming a triple threat position late in the shot clock against a defender when you're 7'4 will never make sense to me. The brilliance of Timmy was he made quick decisions and took simple shots.
Special assistant Mr. Duncan needs to lean on him a little and share his GOAT outlet pass ability tips and tricks. Vic flinging darts down court to our stable of young, athletic studs would lead to good outcomes.
I wouldn't say never snatch the ball down and lead the break - but mix in more crisp outlets and take advantage of the team's speed and athleticism.
I fear this is Wemby's ridiculous obsession. We have a surplus of guards, we don't need any non-guards bringing the ball up. This includes Keldon, HB,Tobias, Carter, 7'7" Wemby, and ESPECIALLY Julian.
We gotta try different looks so we are more versatile in the post season. Get ready for a season of experiments OP. Our goal now is to win championships not just make the playoffs.
how is this thought, if Wemby is not bringing up the ball he can't keep up with the speedy guards or will tire himself out trying. Just spitballing here.
He should usually defer but keeping up the pace will sometimes have him bringing the ball up, just depending where people are when the break starts. I don't think there needs to be a set rule though. The flow of the game and positioning will dictate the break, but I say let him cook if he wants.
The thing is, Victor just kinda does what Victor wants to do. He doesn’t shoot 1 legged runner 3’s because he has some great desire to win, he does it because he thinks it’s fun. He dribbles the ball up because he likes to waste 10 seconds dribbling the ball between his legs without being able to beat his man.
Ultimately, you just live with it because he’s 8 feet tall and mobile
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u/mercfan3 2d ago
Yeah, people were saying he should be coached out of the three. I disagree. When he’s hot from 3, he’s Ray Allen. Those games are good.
He SHOULD be coached out of bringing the ball up the court. It’s just silly when we’re starting 3 PG’s and an SG. And we’ve lost Finals games because of it.