Victor Wembanyama is back in the San Antonio Spurs’ starting lineup.
Wembanyama and the Spurs take on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder on the road Tuesday in a matchup of the top two teams — and two of the best players — in the Western Conference.
Wembanyama returned to the starting lineup in Sunday’s 104-103 loss at Minnesota, starting for the first time since Dec. 31. He scored 29 points in 27 minutes.
The 2023-24 Rookie of the Year came off the bench for San Antonio when he returned from a calf strain in December. He made three starts at the end of the month, then missed two games with a hyperextended knee.
“It’s a constant conversation,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said of the decision of whether Wembanyama starts or not. “… He wants to start, he wants to finish, he wants to play 48 (minutes) and we’ve somehow got to figure out how to keep him happy and still play organically and help the team and do what’s right.”
Wembanyama and the Spurs have handed the Thunder three of Oklahoma City’s seven losses this season — all coming within a 13-day span in December. Since that stretch, San Antonio has gone 4-5.
Part of the Spurs’ recent troubles have been due to the offensive woes of young guards Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper.
During that nine-game span, Castle and Harper have combined to shoot just 33.2% from the field and just 17.5% from beyond the 3-point line.
“Part of it is they’re missing some good shots, part of it … is they’ve just got to learn the balance of what this game calls upon when you have the basketball in your hands a lot, whether that’s being aggressive, whether that’s understanding time and score, whether that’s on-time, on-target passes to your teammates, whether that’s getting the ball out of your hands early,” Johnson said. “There’s some stuff that they’ve just got to go through. It’s no different from when they were flying high in step and the box scores were full. That’s part of the deal when you’re 21 and 19 in this league.”
While Oklahoma City has gone 7-2 since the Christmas Day loss to the Spurs, the Thunder have struggled of late from distance, shooting just 25% from beyond the arc over their last four games.
Oklahoma City shot just 28.8% on 3-pointers in its three losses to San Antonio, including going 11 of 44 in the 117-102 loss on Dec. 25.
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said the issue is a test for his team. He said he’s been happy with Oklahoma City’s shot selection, even more so recently than he was earlier in the season when shots were falling at higher percentages.
“You’re going to go through stretches of games and of the season where you’re getting good shots that aren’t falling, you’re going through stretches of the season where your opponents are shooting higher than their expectation and we try to see it as a mental battle and a challenge that we have to overcome,” Daigneault said. “… It’s a test of your trust in each other and your conviction in what you’re doing.”
The Thunder come into Tuesday’s game on a three-game winning streak, most recently beating Miami 124-112 at home Sunday.
