Alex Caruso reveals the secret to defending Victor Wembanyama

Oklahoma City Thunder a veteran Alec Caruso learned the hard way what not to do when defending yourself San Antonio Spurs All-Star Victor Vembanyama. As it is The Thunder will look to avoid the seasonal swing at the hands of the Spurs, the only team to beat Oklahoma City more than once this season, Caruso revealed the secret to slowing down Wembanyama. San Antonio is looking for a fourth win against the defending champions.

At the morning shootaround, a reporter asked Caruso how the Thunder were doing mitigation plans Vembanyama’s offensive attack, which he said starts with taking him out of his comfort zone.

“Play him, obviously, don’t go 1-on-1. Well, I say that — I played that last game, he got a layup,” Caruso said. “I think you’ve got to be smart. You’ve got to be smart with your offense like any good defender. If you’ve got a great Jrue Holiday or Tony Allen, you’re not going to try to play one-on-one from the wing; that’s not a very good option for you.

“Try to move him, get him out of his shell, get him all the way; just find different ways to put him in positions that aren’t beneficial for him, but are for us.”

The Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, who has been on a minutes restriction due to a knee injury, is averaging 17.6 points on 54.3% shooting, including 4-for-5 from deep, 8.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 23.3 minutes against the Thunder this season. Alex Caruso knows the Thunder will have their hands full heading into Tuesday’s matchup at Paycom Center, which will be the first time Wembanyama is expected to start without a minutes restriction against Oklahoma City this season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Spurs for Game 4

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder will face the Spurs at risk of losing their season series 4-0 on Thursday. Gilgeous-Alexander reflected on the highly anticipated Spurs clash.

While Gilgeous-Alexander knows the difficult task of taking down the Spurs, he told reporters that won’t change the Thunder’s approach, but improvements from the past they are necessary to win.

“I haven’t thought about it yet, but since we’re here, we have to win,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “It’s like any other night. You wake up and you want to win a basketball game. Now, obviously, a very good team that beat us recently. It should be fun. It should be competitive. We have to go out there and do all the things necessary to win the game, and if we don’t, we’re probably going to lose.”

The Thunder will look to beat the Spurs for the first time this season.