I would say that Victor Wembanyama logged 21.0 minutes in last night’s loss to the Grizzlies, but that’s sort of underselling it. Back to a sixth man role after missing San Antonio’s prior two contests, Wembanyama was an absolute force of nature, registering 30 points, five rebounds and a block in his limited run. The former first-round pick finished the game with an eye-popping 47.0% usage rate.
Well, that type of effort takes its toll. On the second night of a back-to-back set, Wembanyama has been listed as questionable.
There’s a couple things to think about here. First and foremost, its the element of two games in two nights, which generally speaking, has been a massive red flag to injury-prone big men the past decade in the NBA. That being said, Wemby did play both legs of a back-to-back on December 18 and December 19, coming off the bench in both contests and logging roughly 20 minutes of action. Sound familiar? The other thing to consider here would be that this contest will be nationally televised on ESPN. Those league office fines get pricey.
With Wembanyama off the court this season, De’Aaron Fox has seen the largest statistical bump, with the point guard’s usage rate climbing to 28.8%. Fox is also averaging 8.0 points more per 75 possessions with his tall, French teammate riding the pine. However, Fox had a very poor shooting performance in Tuesday’s loss, finishing with nine points and making just four of his 18 field goal attempts. Woof.
