Victor Wembanyama briefly left the game after a collision with Jalen Wilson but returned shortly after. The San Antonio Spurs are finally getting healthy and finding a rotation that works.
SAN ANTONIO — Mitch Johnson didn't see the play that caused Victor Wembanyama to take a trip to the visiting locker room at Barclays Center Friday evening. acting coach said, referring to an under-basket collision between Wembanyama and Brooklyn Nets forward Jalen Wilson. 'I actually thought he was just taking an extra breath on the ground.' Incidentally, the initial concern was an easy deduction. Any time a player goes to the locker room, 'you hope he's alright,' as Johnson explained.
Wembanyama didn't seem too phased, however.'It wasn't a bad move, a cheap shot or whatever,' the 20-year-old said. '(Wilson) just jumped and I happened to be over him. I took the full force of the jump in my chin. Like an uppercut.' More than the obvious — losing Wembanyama would spell major trouble for the young Spurs — something else was at play Friday night. In San Antonio's fifth game injury-free, there was finally a sense of continuity in Johnson's rotation.'For the most part, we've played nine guys,' Johnson said. 'It's a little non-traditional, but those nine guys have all earned minutes in their own right. We don't want to overreact, good or bad, once we've gotten healthy. We're just getting a few looks at some things.'The nine in question? Wembanyama, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Chris Paul, Harrison Barnes, Stephon Castle, Julian Champagnie, Keldon Johnson and Tre Jones. Since Vassell's return to the starting lineup, Castle has taken a slight backseat, but his mindset has remained the same. Keldon Johnson has flourished in the second unit along with Jones, who was among the injured Spurs who have more still to prove this season.
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