Victor Wembanyama had a reassuring message for Spurs fans after being forced to leave Wednesday’s game with a hyperextended left knee, Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News writes in a subscriber-only story. The injury looked scary as Wembanyama limped off the court early in the fourth quarter, but he doesn’t believe it’s serious.
“I’m feeling good, just sore,” Wembanyama said. “I’m confident. I was this close to coming back into the game. They had to hold me back. … It was just a hyperextension. It should be a minimal. … We are going to do everything tomorrow to make sure it is OK.”
Wembanyama expects to be available for Friday’s game at Indiana on the first night of a back-to-back, but he acknowledged that the team’s medical staff may not agree with his assessment. The injury occurred when he landed awkwardly while fighting for an offensive rebound. After having it checked out, he walked normally as he returned to the Spurs’ bench late in the game while wearing slippers.
“Have not been able to talk to the medical staff yet, but I think I saw what everybody else saw,” coach Mitch Johnson told reporters. “Obviously, he finished the game on the bench with his teammates, so I think that made me feel good. I have no idea what to say, but it was good to see him walk back out and be able to finish the game on the bench with his teammates.”
There’s more from San Antonio:
- Julian Champagnie sparked a comeback win over New York with a historic shooting performance, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). Champagnie made 11 of his 17 three-point attempts on a night when his teammates shot just 3-of-21 from beyond the arc, and his 36 points were the most in NBA history for a player without taking a two-point shot.
- Champagnie started the game in place of Devin Vassell, who’s dealing with an adductor strain. Johnson said Vassell is expected to miss “more than a game or two,” Orsborn tweets.
- The Spurs traded for De’Aaron Fox because of his reputation as one of the NBA’s best closers, and he displayed those skills on Wednesday by scoring 11 points in the fourth quarter after Wembanyama left the game, McDonald notes. The performance looked familiar to Knicks coach Mike Brown, who guided Fox for three years in Sacramento. “He’s just a great player, man,” Brown said. “The stuff that’s happening here with him, it’s not a surprise to me at all.”
Fox is such a competitor man.. love watching him on defense – completely harass the opponent’s dribble. His patented swipe from behind when a player tries to do a spin move is something that every player should study.
Then on offense, he moves like a coiled spring ran by a super advanced basketball mind. He is ready to explode on any given moment, and his body control over all that speed is incredible.
Not many players choose their destination because of the ACTUAL GAME being played over there… some players like Bradley Beal only want to play in warm climates, etc.. Yet Fox had only the Spurs on his trade list, so we knew he would be a good fit.
The Spurs have the quickest player in the league and the lengthiest one. The amount of space we cover is ridiculous.
What an amazing fit with Castle and Harper too..
Castle complements him perfectly (a whole other type of explosiveness), and then you get Harper off the bench playing like a mixture of both of them.
Most importantly, nobody on the team needs to score 30 points a night for the team to be in position to win. It’s pure team basketball by the Spurs, as usual.
I do not want to continue paying Devin Vassell $25 million dollars a year for four more years though. He just doesn’t buy into the system well enough. It’s most evident when he brings the ball up the floor while having an open outlet to Harper or Castle for them to bring it up instead, yet elects to not use them, despite his inability to create easy looks for others. Hopefully we can attach some draft assets and offload that contract.
And here I like Vassell. His perimeter D is outstanding and 3/D moniker is appropriate. He, along with Castle are perimeter nightmares and now adding Harper to the group further infuriates opposing guards. Fox isn’t too shabby, but is a step down since the surgery.
Julian Champagnie Is from my neck of the woods. Played for St Johns and went undrafted. Sixers waived him and Spurs picked him up. He’s gotten better and better. At 24 yrs old once again shows why you never, NEVER give up on players under 25. Great find by Spurs. I’m sure he wanted to beat the Knicks. Spurs are young and deep. And still growing getting better as a team.
Hope my buddy is watching. Fox is showing why he is one of best PGs in the game. Already the best 2Way PG. Great signing by Spurs.
Weird win for Spurs, because you can’t expect 11 threes from Champagnie and if Victor doesn’t go out with the injury, they may not have made the comeback. The challenge for this Johnson is that Fox needs to be the guy in the fourth quarter but when Wemby is on the floor, they feel pressure to run everything through him and FOX disappears. With Wemby out Fox was able to do his thing.
Really ……. Spurs are 18-6 with Fox playing. 6-3 without. All team offensive stats go up with Fox playing. He is their vet leader ….
link to statmuse.com
Well, 18-6 is the same percentage as 6-2, so being 6-3 without Fox is not terribly significant. We’d need a bigger sample to see whether he really bears so much weight. Personally, I tend to think these Spurs can play well and be competitive without any single player, Wemby and Fox included.
If you believe that. Then you must be new to ball. Cause Spurs didn’t bring in Fox and max him out to be the same team. They are way ahead of last yrs pace. And the URL is there to chk out the stats. It says all team offensive stats are up with Fox playing. Thats what a real PG does for a young especially …..
He got a lot of wide open looks. I agree but also they let him go off to focus on other guys
Like the article says. He was big in 4Q. That’s when you need your vet leader. That’s why he is here. Knicks know who they have to stop ….. Oh except JC of course. Spurs are older than Thunder were last yr. Fox is the piece they were missing.