Victor Wembanyama and Spurs hit by offensive ‘anxiety’?

A few days ago, Spurs strung together a third win against the Thunder in two weeks, to the point of giving some music: and if the band Victor Vembanyama progressed so quickly that she could even aim for the title? Since then, San Antonio has just lost at home to Utah and Cleveland, and Mitch Johnson had a bad day at the press conference.

“It gave the impression that we were suffering from a lot of anxiety on the offensive level” let the coach go after the defeat. “And so, for most of the game, we weren’t in rhythm at all.”

Translation: waste, hasty decisions and an offense that plays faster than fair… And if Mitch Johnson is saluting the Cavs’ defense, he’s taking special aim at his own players. “Sometimes we were carried by the energy of desperation, for no reason. It is connected with motivation, with the desire to prove something: the desire to be aggressive, the desire to widen the gap or reduce it… But there are no 6-point actions. We have to use our energy wisely.”

“I don’t know if it’s anxiety, but it’s the time of the season when we’ve tried a lot of things. Some have worked, others haven’t, and opponents are trying new things, but it should be a calmer match than twenty games ago.” answers Victor Vembanyamasked about his coach’s comments.

Decompression after the NBA Cup and matches against the Thunder?

For “Wembey”, who dribbled a lot and multiplied isolation sequences that were not always effective, Spurs may tend to “take shortcuts”for some relaxation?

“We are coming out of a very difficult period in our calendar, which we negotiated well, with games that required a lot of mental concentration. And we had to get out of that.”

Listening to the French All-Star, San Antonio may have experienced a little decompression after their trip to the NBA Cup then his “playoff streak” against the current champion. It’s back to regular season routine as Victor Wembanyama relinquishes his role as the sixth man returning to the starting five.

“As the coach said after the last match, we are not as good as everyone said after our last matches, and we are not as bad as we showed in the last two matches, but we have to deal with all that and not waste our efforts on such mistakes.” “Wembi” concludes.

Especially since despite this setback, the young Spurs remain in second place in the Western Conference, with 23 wins and 9 losses, behind the Thunder (28-5).

How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.