As Victor Wembanyama released a 20-foot shot that would have given San Antonio the lead in the closing seconds Friday night, his teammates had complete confidence that it was going in, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes in a subscriber-only story.
“He’s made that shot a thousand times,” Stephon Castle said. “That’s a shot he makes in his sleep,” Dylan Harper added. “He makes that shot nine times out of 10,” De’Aaron Fox echoed.
But when it mattered most, the ball clanged off the back of the rim, and the final buzzer sounded before the Spurs could get off another good shot, leaving them with a 2-0 deficit as the NBA Finals heads to New York. It capped a rough ending to the game for Wembanyama, who committed a devastating turnover a few seconds earlier when his outlet pass bounced off the back of Castle, who wasn’t expecting the ball.
“Am I going to regret it? Yes, of course,” Wembanyama said. “Am I going to use that to fuel me and fuel us next game? Absolutely.”
There’s more from San Antonio:
- Coach Mitch Johnson called it “not acceptable” that Wembanyama only took four shots in the first half and acknowledged that players, the coaching staff and the French star himself have to make a better effort to keep him involved in the offense, McDonald adds. Wembanyama returned to his usual dominance after intermission, finishing with 29 points, nine rebounds and four blocks and helping the Spurs erase a late 12-point deficit. “We came in (at halftime) and we were like, ‘We need you to be aggressive,’” Fox said. “That is what it is. He came out in the second and was much better for us.”
- Turnover problems reemerged for Castle in the Game 2 loss as he gave the ball up four times in 28 minutes, notes Tom Orsborn of The Express-News (subscription required). Johnson said the second-year guard is getting caught in the air too often while deciding what to do with the ball, and Castle agrees. “I think just trying to overthink some reads sometimes,” Castle said. “I got caught in traffic, especially deep in the paint. It’s something I can go back and look at and see how I can fix.”
- Thirty-four-year-old Harrison Barnes has been telling his younger teammates to make the most of this trip to the NBA Finals and not assume they’ll be back every year, Orsborn relays in a separate story. Barnes reached the Finals with Golden State during his first two seasons, but had to wait another decade to return. “Every single year you have to begin at the start of the journey, the start of the mountain and climb, and health is a major part of it,” Barnes said. “So, I don’t think it’s necessarily a mentality where we say, ‘This is their only shot,’ (or) ‘Just because we’re young, we have a lot of different opportunities.’ This may be the last time both teams are in the Finals for a while. We have no idea.”
2 things SA needs if they want to get back into series.
1. Wemby has to be the best player on the court-if you just look at box score from game 2(it looks like wemby played well) but he really didn’t. He didn’t want the ball, and he missed a ton of lays up around the rim.
2. The G’s can’t keep turning the ball over. Castle had 2 big TOs late in 4th qtr and that’s not even the wemby bad pass(that’s on wemby not castle). G’s have to play under control, they set up the offense and have to make strong decisions with the ball
Only twice has a team lost both games at home in the NBA finals, both times they lost the series.
I think it’s too late for the Spurs but honestly this team is so young and so far ahead of schedule it’s crazy they even got here. They will learn so much from it.
You can see they are still trying to find themselves out there.
Vic isn’t playing like a top 5 player that’s 7 foot 5 and unguardable.
Castle isn’t demanding the ball and scoring at will. Fox is the most at home but he’s also the oldest so it makes sense. Dylan Harper has looked great this series. Vassell has looked a little quiet under the bright lights. Champagnie has looked solid from someone that’s comes from no where that’s awesome to see.
I think there are two obviously holes for this side. One they lack abit of muscle in the paint. They need that 240lb power forward that will throw his weight around. Secondly they could do with a lights out shooter on the perimeter. Vassell and Champagnie have done well for them but someone that when you see them set and shot you know it’s going in before it’s coming down.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they ship Fox this offseason, Castle can be your lead guard and Harper can step into the starting role. Those two big body guards would be awesome. Add a shooter and add a bruiser then I think your happy days
They love Fox, he’s not going anywhere. Vet leadership is a big reason they’re ahead of schedule, they’ll need it even more next season when every team is gunning for them. I think they’ll just bank on internal growth and only make changes at the margins.
Barnes was in year 3 and 4 of his career when he reached the Finals with the Warriors – it was not his first 2 seasons.