Cade Cunningham admits Victor Wembanyama conundrum after Spurs defeat
Although the Pistons implemented a defensive game plan built around physicality to slow down Victor VembanyamaThe Spurs won Monday’s game 114-103. Although Vembanyama had 21 points, he was just 6-16 from the field. But Vembanyama still proved effective in other areas of the game, grabbing 17 rebounds and making six blocks.
In the comments after the game obtained from Omari Sankofa II, star of the Pistons Cade Cunningham admitted that his team could not adapt to the intensity that Vembanjama brought to the defensive side of the floor.
“We just couldn’t figure out Wemby early enough. We changed a lot of our shots, changed our approach and there were spurts of finding things and doing things that we like to do. He just changed too many shots and didn’t figure it out early enough.”
Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff articulated his approach to attacking the Wembanyama-led defense, saying: You have to go through him, you can’t go around him. (Duren) did a great job late where he was going through it. If you let him play in space, he’s too smart, too talented β¦ you have to go through him more.β
Jalen Duren HIT on Wembey, plus foul πpic.twitter.com/L0kLVKoM9o
β ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 24, 2026
Jalen Duren finished the game with 25 points. including a thrilling dunk with a poster on Victor Vembanyama which went viral on social media. But Duren didn’t see much help offensively, especially since Cunningham finished the game with 16 points and was 5-26 from the field.
But Bickerstaff saw the loss from a broader perspective, citing the 18 three-pointers they allowed from San Antonio that ultimately put the game out of reach.
“They moved the ball well, they attacked off the rebound to get those looks. Some of them were at fault, we made hard side threes from the corner, which we usually don’t … credit to them. They played a strong game.”
2026-02-24 16:47:00
