As the final bell rang at the Toyota Center, with members of the San Antonio Spurs And Houston Rockets exchanging post-match pleasantries, a frustrated Victor Wembanyama stormed off the floor and headed towards the locker room.
Defensively, Wembanyama continues to demonstrate his versatility and the progression of his game, accumulating 11 rebounds and seven blocks Tuesday night. On the other end of the court, however, the No. 1 pick struggled, finishing with just 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting, including a scoreless second half.
“That’s what we call real bullshit around here,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after a 114-101 loss. “They deserve a lot of credit, they were physical from start to finish. They pursued it that way, played that way. Put us in the mud and we didn’t respond very well to it, and you got the result. It takes a little more mental strength and we didn’t have it.
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This isn’t the first time this season that Wembanyama has expressed his displeasure with a matchup against another talented center – he was visibly annoyed afterwards Joel Embiid70-point performance earlier this season and has made no secret of his rivalry with Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren. Wembanyama is a fierce competitor who hates losing.
Essentially, most of Wembanyama’s frustrations came from Alperen Sengün, Houston’s third-year center who continues to progress by leaps and bounds in his own developmental arc. There have been times this season where Şengün has looked like a budding superstar and others where he is still showing areas that need to be tightened up, but on Tuesday night he simply looked unstoppable. Şengün finished with a career-high 45 points, along with 16 rebounds, five steals, three assists and one block.
Wembanyama managed to block Şengün on several occasions and, ironically, an early rim trick dissuaded the Turkish big man from forcing the issue. But after some encouragement from the bench – notably from Rockets coach Ime Udoka – Şengün doubled down on his approach and took the game to Wembanyama, literally.
“Going up against one of the best defenders in the league, you often have to attack him and make him work,” Udoka said. “Everywhere, from the top of the key, from the elbows, on the post, in the pocket and on the rollers, he was doing a great job.”
“He’s so big but he’s not that strong yet,” Şengün said of Wembanyama. “I would go to his chest and put him under the rim.”
Şengün’s defensive work against Wembanyama was part of a broader plan by the Rockets to keep the French center off balance. Physical Wings Dillon Brooks And Jabari Smith Jr. had the initial assignments, using their strength and length to try to push Wembanyama out of his favored positions – and for good reason. Wembanyama, who was recently named Rookie of the Month, has been on an offensive roll, shooting 41.3 percent from distance on over five attempts per game in February, in addition to his other impressive stats of 21.3 points , 10.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists. 3.9 blocks and 2.0 steals per game last month.
Houston’s aggressive approach Tuesday worked, racking up 15 interceptions to just 15 team fouls. Even in times when San Antonio chased Şengün in transfer-heavy drafts, he was able to hold his own, with a career-high five interceptions, a timely reminder of Şengün’s potential as a viable team defender. The confidence built on the defensive end of the pitch threw away an MVP-level performance for Şengün, who used his impressive array of footwork and feints to keep Wembanyama guessing. Şengün completely dominated Wembanyama in the second half of the match, amassing 30 points to 0 against the first pick.
It was an eye-opening performance for the Houston big man, the kind of wake-up call rebuilding teams need as they move from one phase to the next. For Wembanyama, it was a needle in a haystack of a rookie season, but a necessary reminder that the Aliens can be taken out — even for one night.
“I mean, yes, of course,” Şengün said of his added motivation against Wembanyama. “I didn’t play very well against him in the last game, I can say that. And I didn’t have a lot of double teams, they just left me one-on-one with Wemby. I just did what I do.
Over the past six months, Wembanyama’s uncanny potential has taken the league by storm and, at times, it’s easy to forget that he’s still just a rookie. On Tuesday, against Sengün and their interstate rivals, he looked like a mere mortal.
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(Photo: Troy Taormina / USA Today)
