Game Thread Spurs (45-17) vs Clippers (30-31) (Fri 03/06/26) [8:30 PM CST]

Fair enough. I just hope it's wrong about it being his unique physical build.

He might be the first to play at this high of a level consistently at both ends. Even the great 2 way guys usually ramped up defense for crunch time but rested a lot on that end. Jordan, Kobe, etc. The great defensive bigs who manned the paint anywhere close to this level weren't the offensive force Wemby is.
I didn't get to watch prime Hakeem, so I don't know how much ground he covered on defense. Not sure who else is up there on both defense and offense for big men. It's usually guys like Jordan, Kobe when he was younger, Kawhi that did it two way. Not sure how hard Jordan went during his prime years and/or if he took plays off on defense throughout parts of the games?
 
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Fair enough. I just hope it's wrong about it being his unique physical build.


I didn't get to watch prime Hakeem, so I don't know how much ground he covered on defense. Not sure who else is up there on both defense and offense for big men. It's usually guys like Jordan, Kobe when he was younger, Kawhi that did it two way. Not sure how hard Jordan went during his prime years and/or if he took plays off on defense throughout parts of the games?
Jordan's 3rd year in the NBA was about the time I started paying attention to the NBA as a kid. He definitely had stretches of every game he took off on defense, and a lot of times he didnt guard the other team's top perimeter guy as that job usually went to Pippen or someone like Ron Harper if a PG. Jordan had nowhere near the defensive responsibilities Wemby has night in and night out. Wemby covers the paint for the block while also covering the lob and can even get out to contest the 3. No one has ever done that, and he does it almost every possession he's in.
 
I watch the games and I pay attention. Yall make it seem like Wemby is the first player in the history of the league to play both sides of the floor. I would say 2016 Kawhi exerted much more energy running around the perimeter on both sides of the floor, compared to Wemby who's basically playing zone and staying close to the basket the whole time. I'm not even hating, I love Wemby's 100% effort on both sides of the floor, but that's how it is, tbh.

If Wemby is really as tired as he's making out to be, the problem obviously comes from his unique physical build, and that sucks because I don't know that there's a solution to that. Although, I still hold hope that he's just being overly expressive, as he tends to be sometimes, and that he's just overselling normal regular season grind.
Its not that he is only playing both ends - its that he is involving himself in every play- almost. Kawhi did not put up the blocks or even affected/changed the amount of plays vic is involving himself in. For example, if kawhi was on the opponents best player and that player ran to the corner - kawhi could sit with that opponent in that corner for a play or two or three while the game went on - on the other side of the court...
and then on offense kawhi might or might not be involved in the offensive plays for a few minutes at a time- again where vic is setting screens (still learning to set decent screens) and making sure the defense is having to react to his presence, etc...

vic is in every defensive play as soon as he moves in any direction...protecting the basket, the 3 pt line, the middle, the other side - if he takes two steps - and on every offensive play...

so his head is on a swivel and every play involves him whether opponents like it or not.

I do agree some of it is communication and euro style honesty where maybe vic did not grow up in that "never let on or show emotions" thing -
but this is his longest season and he prepared like a monster all summer to last this long as he is still just starting to acclimate to nba seasons -

its all a process and hopefully he re-energizes a bit before the playoff. Here is where Mitch has to mix in some old school pop-load mgmt and some new school mitch tough-minded motivation to have vic ready and still fresh for the playoff run.
 
I was imagining that the okc kunts like shai and dort were watching last nights game and cheering for the clips all night and then praying the clips would hang on...

and their disappointment in the end....
 
This game would have puts clips half game behind hawks...they may never catch em now
 
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