Player The unfortunately low-ceilinged Shaolin monastery of Victor Wembanyama

[Limguoguolo]

Swear seen jokic,lebron and other still with obvious flops as well trying to get a call.Yet havent seen them or others get a tech.

The art of flopping is not about making people believe you've been fouled, but about wrapping it up in authoritative body language.

When Victor flops or is the victim of a real foul, he puts on the perfect victim's face: he's a seven-year-old whose parents have confiscated his favorite toy to give it to Donald Trump.

We are a species that prefers to give credit to individuals who already have all the traits of dominant males (like me). The more Victor cries, the less the referees will blow their whistles.

In FIBA, this is why, for example, Doncic does not always get favorable calls. He is a player who is like a child, and despite his feints, because he cries too much with a victim face, we tend not to want to give him the benefit of the doubt.

You have to cry with a dominant face.

Victor needs to learn to accentuate contact, of course, but he should never complain about fouls in a child way. He seemed to understand this at the beginning of his career, in Zen master mode, but since defenses have become more aggressive, even vicious, he cries too much. And the more he feels like a victim, the more he will complain about fouls with a little boy's air, the less the referees will give him the benefit of the doubt. (Giannis has the same problem. Yet he provokes a lot.)

You just have to accept that referees can't see everything and call everything.

Flopping, The art of the dominant? (meta-analysis) , Lim, Guo, Guolo and al., 2023 (The Lancet.)

 

[tearsofmorningdew]

The art of flopping is not about making people believe you've been fouled, but about wrapping it up in authoritative body language.

When Victor flops or is the victim of a real foul, he puts on the perfect victim's face: he's a seven-year-old whose parents have confiscated his favorite toy to give it to Donald Trump.

We are a species that prefers to give credit to individuals who already have all the traits of dominant males (like me). The more Victor cries, the less the referees will blow their whistles.

In FIBA, this is why, for example, Doncic does not always get favorable calls. He is a player who is like a child, and despite his feints, because he cries too much with a victim face, we tend not to want to give him the benefit of the doubt.

You have to cry with a dominant face.

Victor needs to learn to accentuate contact, of course, but he should never complain about fouls in a child way. He seemed to understand this at the beginning of his career, in Zen master mode, but since defenses have become more aggressive, even vicious, he cries too much. And the more he feels like a victim, the more he will complain about fouls with a little boy's air, the less the referees will give him the benefit of the doubt. (Giannis has the same problem. Yet he provokes a lot.)

You just have to accept that referees can't see everything and call everything.

Flopping, The art of the dominant? (meta-analysis) , Lim, Guo, Guolo and al., 2023 (The Lancet.)

Agree with the premise of your post but what’s the excuse for shai? always has a shitty look on his face when he’s flopping around.

 

[Limguoguolo]

Agree with the premise of your post but what’s the excuse for shai? always has a shitty look on his face when he’s flopping around.

I have rarely seen Shai complain (too much). Even less so as a child.

I don't know if he is a vocal leader, but on the court, he is a boss in body language. Few emotions, excellent authority, no excesses. He is nothing like a child or a crybaby.

I'm not even sure he needs to flop. All he has to do is get whistles with his feints and elegance (yes, it works: when brutes get rough, we think they deserve it or that they're used to it, made for it; Shai is the prince of groove, and you don't touch princes).

 

[Ice009]

I have rarely seen Shai complain (too much). Even less so as a child.

I don't know if he is a vocal leader, but on the court, he is a boss in body language. Few emotions, excellent authority, no excesses. He is nothing like a child or a crybaby.

I'm not even sure he needs to flop. All he has to do is get whistles with his feints and elegance (yes, it works: when brutes get rough, we think they deserve it or that they're used to it, made for it; Shai is the prince of groove, and you don't touch princes).

Very poetic.

 

[Shmurs]

He’s just not good at the craft. His flops are baaaad. This is definitely an acquired talent though. He should be able to figure it out. But right now he makes a lot of unforced errors with winning over the officials. And he’ll often be punished for trying to play through obvious contact. So he’s just not sure how to balance it all yet.

 

[NotRobDiaz21]

Has Wemby's offense developed much at all since his rookie season? This is the first season I've really watched games in years tbh. Looks like he's trying to figure it out but I can't seem to pinpoint his offensive style or what it should be. I just really dislike when he's forcing things instead of letting the game come to him.

 

[Correct Crusader]

Has Wemby's offense developed much at all since his rookie season? This is the first season I've really watched games in years tbh. Looks like he's trying to figure it out but I can't seem to pinpoint his offensive style or what it should be. I just really dislike when he's forcing things instead of letting the game come to him.

Yes. Obviously Yes. He just had a bad game. It happens.

 

[SpursFan86]

His shot selection definitely seems to have regressed big time compared to the first 10 or so games of the season. The big reason it was looking like he was going to take over the league early on was because of how dominant he was inside and taking fewer low % shots.

I do think this whole minutes restriction thing is likely not helping. That may be less of an excuse for tonight, but in general since he’s come back it seems like he’s trying to jam in 35 minutes of production into 25 minutes of actual playing time.

He’s been fantastic this year, but it’s a little concerning that his offense still seems so disoriented/directionless at times. Not even talking about the 3s, it’s more the wildly out of control drives and super contested mid-range stuff that has me shaking my head.

 

[Correct Crusader]

His shot selection definitely seems to have regressed big time compared to the first 10 or so games of the season. The big reason it was looking like he was going to take over the league early on was because of how dominant he was inside and taking fewer low % shots.

I do think this whole minutes restriction thing is likely not helping. That may be less of an excuse for tonight, but in general since he’s come back it seems like he’s trying to jam in 35 minutes of production into 25 minutes of actual playing time.

He’s been fantastic this year, but it’s a little concerning that his offense still seems so disoriented/directionless at times. Not even talking about the 3s, it’s more the wildly out of control drives and super contested mid-range stuff that has me shaking my head.

The minutes restriction sure but I think the bigger thing is getting taken out right as he gets hot. Mitch has zero clue how to manage hot hands

 

[Mugen]

Conditioning matters. Didn’t have his legs tonight tbh.

 

[scott]

Sengun’s whiny bitch ass remains his daddy

He gets another chance next week

 

[Quentin_Compson]

Even in a difficult game like the one against the Rockets, I just love people's visceral reactions to the crazy stuff Wemby does: When he had this wild baseline driving dunk at the start of the 2nd quarter, the camera panned to Champagnie covering his mouth in shocked disbelief.

 

[RC_Drunkford]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2013857539826610289

 

[Rafa]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2013857539826610289

If only Wemby knew this loool

 

[Ice009]

Kevin Durant nailed it. How does Victor not understand he's way more lethal going inside. I guess because of his size, he can't do it consistently. I don't see why he can't pump-fake and try and get to the rim on some of those fadeaways he ends up taking.

 

[cediskace]

Kevin Durant nailed it. How does Victor not understand he's way more lethal going inside. I guess because of his size, he can't do it consistently. I don't see why he can't pump-fake and try and get to the rim on some of those fadeaways he ends up taking.

well, if he never takes the jump shot, i guess the pump-fake will not work very often......

 

[cediskace]

oh, and just in case, Wemby is shooting at 50.6/38/84.3 this season...... by far, his best marks of his NBA carrer. his efficiency is very good. Maybe it coud be even better if he plays closer to the basket, but he's yet very efficient.

 

[Ice009]

well, if he never takes the jump shot, i guess the pump-fake will not work very often......

Yes, correct, he needs to take and make some of them, but what I'm saying is - he could try and turn some of those fade-aways into pump fakes and drives to the rim to either score or draw a foul. He seems to be settling, and based on what KD said, that's what the Rockets wanted.

 

[brazil]

Going inside when you do so much work on defense requires a lot of conditioning and the injury, mn restrictions, back to back are not helping him in that regard.

Saying that he did not progress offensively is obviously wrong. His 3 pts shooting selection improved a lot, he is at 38% and above 40% since he is back from injuries, more importantly he is not shooting them whatever the situation. he is developing a nice mid range on top of the key, since his return he has also cleaned his TOV 1,4 pg... He had a bad game, it happens

Victor is by far our most consistent player

 

[Ice009]

I'm not one of the guys saying he didn't improve (he absolutely has). My only issue is he's letting them off the hook as he gets caught up shooting it all the time. I am certain that is what happened this game. He had some good shooting games against lesser opponents and he thought he could do the same thing this game, but the shots didn't go in, and according to KD, that is what the Rockets wanted him to do anyway.

I don't care about fatigue or any of that. That's not the point. Is that excuse going to be used in the playoffs? Oh, he's fatigued, so therefore, we lose and he gets a pass because he's fatigued? It may have been fatigue, but that's not the point. We're talking about how he's playing within the game. If he's fatigued, well, does that mean we just punt the game? He can't play any differently?

 

[Rafa]

oh, and just in case, Wemby is shooting at 50.6/38/84.3 this season...... by far, his best marks of his NBA carrer. his efficiency is very good. Maybe it coud be even better if he plays closer to the basket, but he's yet very efficient.

I think it’s more of a matter of finding other ways to score when his shot isn’t falling, part of being a complete star. You’re right to say his averages are improving, but he can be very streaky, and often he seems like he just decides how he’s playing that night and doesn’t adjust well.

When nights like tonight happen, he need to get going down low and make use of his size, either to score or to facilitate open shots for the team. He can get stuck just trying to shoot his way out of it Kobe style which sometimes leads to nights like tonight.

 

[Ice009]

Nicely put.

 

[brazil]

I'm not one of the guys saying he didn't improve (he absolutely has). My only issue is he's letting them off the hook as he gets caught up shooting it all the time. I am certain that is what happened this game. He had some good shooting games against lesser opponents and he thought he could do the same thing this game, but the shots didn't go it, and according to KD, that is what the Rockets wanted him to do anyway.

I don't care about fatigue or any of that. That's not the point. Is that excuse going to be used in the playoffs? Oh, he's fatigue, so therefore, we lose and he gets a pass because he's fatigued? It may have been fatigue, but that's not the point. We're talking about how he's playing. If he's fatigued, well, does that mean we just punt the game? He can't play any differently?

I'm not sure what you are arguing here. I said he had a bad game, I'm not making excuses of anything. To go inside as suggested by KD requires legs he did not have this game, he has not been able to adapt to the situation thus he had a bad game. Nobody is letting him off the hook.

As for the POs I have been vocal about the fact his mpg need to ramp up. If we go from 20 mpg to 35 in POs it won't end well. I have noticed that Spurs are now increasing the load at 30 mpg (last 3 games) which is the right thing to do, the sonner the better.

 

[Ice009]

Alright, thanks. I just watched it for the first time and then had been posting shortly after, so the game/loss was still fresh to me. I misunderstood and thought you were making excuses with fatigue/having no legs. I missed you saying he had a poor game (I skimmed through your reply and I have now read it properly and see you did definitely say he had a bad game). My fault, so I'll apologize to you on that one.

 

[brazil]

Alright, thanks. I just watched it for the first time and then had been posting shortly after, so the game/loss was still fresh to me. I misunderstood and thought you were making excuses with fatigue/having no legs. I missed you saying he had a poor game (I skimmed through your reply and I have now read it properly and see you did definitely say he had a bad game). My fault, so I'll apologize to you on that one.

all good ice, no need to apologize.