With playoff qualification already out of the window, the Spurs only have one thing to fight for and that is pride. Of course, finishing rock bottom has its own perks in the NBA draft but a repeated lowly finish is not something many fans hope for.
The expectations are also valid since Spurs acquired the French sensation, Victor Wembanyama, who has put the League on notice in his rookie season. The towering center, who dwarfs 7-footers in comparison, has been the only positive for an off-track Spurs season.
Gregg Popovich outraged after Rockets loss
The San Antonio Spurs took center stage after beating the second-seeded OKC and the Pacers in a row. While going for their third game to increase the winning streak, things turned upside down. The Houston Rockets not only obstructed their streak with a 114-101 loss, but their rookie player, Victor Wembanyama joined the Spurs injury list too after scoring 10 points, 11 rebounds and 3 assists in 31 minutes of the game.
Head Coach Gregg Popovich was understandably fuming after the loss. In the postgame interview, praising the Rockets for showcasing superior performance from the start till the end of the game, Popovich said, “That’s what you call a royal a** whuppin’, right there. They deserve a lot of credit. They were physical from the get-go ’till the end of the game…It put us in mud and we didn’t respond very well and you’ve got the outcome.”
He continued criticizing his team for not understanding the “mental toughness” required to face the other teams down the road. The 75-year-old said, “Young group needs to understand the road is a lot different than at home & it requires a little bit more mental toughness and we didn’t have that tonight.” When the coach was asked about Wemby’s pre-existing shoulder injury and its current status, he ignored the question and walked off.
Popovich’s reaction seems just as the Spurs do not have much time left in the NBA regular season and they might have to end up at the bottom of the Western Conference table with six games away from being in the play-in spot.
Fans believe Victor Wembanyama responsible for loss
Victor Wembanyama is the favorite for the Rookie Of The Year title this season, giving tough competition to the other talented candidate, Chet Holmgren. Wemby was getting enough positive attention from the NBA community until their recent loss to the Rockets. While coach Popovich blamed his team, the NBA fans felt that the budding star Wemby, who was named the future face of NBA by Kevin Durant, had a lot to do with the loss.
Here are some of the reactions of the fans on X (formerly Twitter) calling out the 20-year-old for a not-so-impressive performance:
Stating that Wemby got outclassed by the big men of the Rockets, a fan commented, “He looked good in the 1st, it wasn’t the injury more he just got outclassed. He was getting all the defensive attention, they attacked his legs, forced him to play drop cause his guards wasn’t getting over screens. I wouldn’t blame the injury more than lack of effort”
While another fan felt that others played a better game that the newbie, “Everyone but Vic actually had a pretty good game besides turnovers tbh. It really just came down to the franchise player being in foul trouble and having 0fga to end the half”
Wemby was a late addition to the team for the game as he had a sore shoulder. Blaming the decider for approving Victor to participate in the game against Rockets, a fan commented, “Whoever decided for Wemby to be out there: him, the team, or both, they made a terrible decision. Dude looked gassed and not himself.”
Pointing out that the young lad was not fully fit to play, an NBA fan wrote, “Wemby clearly not 100% hit enough to play. He probably lied to the staff”
Wembanyama is having an outstanding season averaging 20.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game along with 1.3 steals and 3.4 blocks while shooting at 46.9% from the floor and 33.5% from the 3-point range. It is uncertain whether he will appear for Friday’s game against the Sacramento Kings as no latest update has been received about his shoulder injury.
