Victor Wembanyama is neither surprised nor worried about his less than good performance

After the Suns, the Lakers of the very good Deandre Ayton managed to slow down Victor Vembanyamalimited to 5 of 14 shots, 8 rebounds, but also 5 turnovers and 6 fouls. The Frenchman warned that his opponents will mimic the Phoenix defenseetc Wemby he’s not too worried about this average outing, which coincides with another loss.

“There’s no particular concern, we’re just trying to find what works best.” he answers. “There are obvious things that we can fix right away, but there are other, deeper aspects. Right now I have the impression that the game is going very fast, in a way. It’s like, as we improve collectively and individually, the opponents also raise their level, especially in defense. So yes, the game seems faster at the moment. We will adapt to it, of course, impressively, but we will see how quickly it will be.

More precisely, how to adapt to this increasingly fast game, and to coaches who manage to react very quickly. “Of course you have to watch the video, study the game. But sometimes, during the match, you have to “reset”” he continues. “That’s easier said than done because in the heat of the moment you don’t always think about it. But that comes with maturity and experience, with anticipation. Personally, I’ve never seen this type of defense before, so we have to adjust collectively.”

“Little physical reaction”

As he focuses on defense, what has he noticed in particular in the last two games? “I don’t want to go into too much detail, but the speed with which the twos are coming is much higher than before, from the first quarter. And the teams are coming very prepared, with very clear defensive schemes against us.” he repeats. “And we prepare, of course, but on the field we have to face it. It’s not something we can solve with a snap of our fingers. But it will make us better, very quickly.”

And then there is the consequence of eight to nine months without playing. After a period of euphoria, we now have to get back into the rhythm of an 82-game season. “I think after 5 or 6 games it was a bit difficult, like everyone else. It’s nothing to get back into this rhythm” confirms the Frenchman, named the best player of the week at the end of October. “After 5-6 games, I felt a little reaction, yes. But it happened. This is an advantage when the body gets used to playing 3-4 times a week, you recover quickly. It’s okay, we’ve had a few easy days recently, so we’re recovering. We’re getting some freshness.”