He clenched his fists tightly and slammed them against his skull.
Who was he most angry with?
Victor Wembanyama experienced another defeat, an infuriating one, on the night of Friday to Saturday with the San Antonio Spurs against the New Orleans Pelicans (113-114).
Long ahead in the score, the Texans gradually saw the Louisiana team return to the game and move in front.
Until these last three seconds, a final action to play, the instructions of Popovich on the sidelines, and the missed shot of Devin Vassell while Victor Wembanyama had nevertheless, it seems, managed to stand out near the basket.
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“What was decided was whether to give the shot to Victor or me,” Vassell explains.
We had to watch how the defense would adapt and react accordingly.
I saw that I had no one in front of me, I took the shot.
» The biggest contract in the squad, Devin Vassell has often repeated that he intends to assume his role as leader.
Sometimes even if it means forcing shots?
The question is open and poisons the Spurs season, accused of not taking enough advantage of the 2.22 m of its number 1 near the circle.
“We would have preferred the ball near the circle”
We will not immediately have the answer from Victor Wembanyama, who did not appear before the media after the match, for only the second time this season.
He did not take a shot during the last 7 minutes of the last quarter, until this last action where he could or should have inherited the ball.
“We would have preferred to have the ball near the circle and go for a dunk, but that's the shot we were able to take,” said an irritated Gregg Popovich.
Also read “Both deserve it”: between Wembanyama and Holmgren, the race for the rookie title rages in the NBA
The learning continues for the Spurs for whom the path is gradually becoming clearer: when they are aggressive in defense, and rotate the ball sufficiently in attack by not forcing shots too quickly, they pose problems for their opponents .
San Antonio is… the 3rd team in the NBA in number of assists (29.4 per game), the work of iconic coach Gregg Popovich.
A rank that clashes with the general classification, where the Texan team is dead last in the Western Conference, with only 10 victories in 49 matches.
The Spurs are weighed down by ball handling that can be improved, both in shooting efficiency (25% at three points against the Pelicans) and ball control (18 losses).
“We played like dogs and that’s the behavior I want to see,” analyzes Popovich.
We missed some shots but I don't care.
What upsets me more are the 24 points we conceded after losing the ball.
Usually, in this case, you get your butt worked.
»
"One motion...shoot on target."
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In this difficult context, Victor Wembanyama continues to have a very high quality season.
After 43 games played, he is in the top 5 rookies in NBA history in points per minute (0.72), behind two legends: Wilt Chamberlain (0.81) and Michael Jordan (0 .74).
Against the Pelicans, he came close to a triple-double (16 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists).
The sign of an extremely complete game which asserts itself match after match.
Facing Cleveland this Saturday evening back-to-back or very quickly during the rest of the season, the Frenchman will undoubtedly clench his fists very hard again.
Victory and joy this time.