The No. 1 pick is posting defensive highlights every night and has the numbers to back up Defensive Player of the Year buzz, but the Spurs team defense isn't getting any better yet.
., the No. 3 pick in last year's draft, is barrelling toward the rim, the only thing standing between him and the basket isfires a bounce pass across the court to Smith, who catches it just inside the 3-point line. At this moment, the 19-year-old rookie is facing the rim, his back to Smith.Smith takes two steps and leaps for what appears to be a thunderous dunk to extend the Rockets' lead to five. But Wembanyama, standing at the top of the restricted area, jumps as well.
One possession, in his second career NBA regular-season game, showed the kind of defensive promise that has many around the league predicting multiple Defensive Player of the Year awards. And Wembanyama's defensive impact goes beyond the highlights, with eye-popping individual metrics. "I'm not being a wise guy," Popovich said on Oct. 16."I don't know what else to tell you. We sucked."
"Size can translate into block shots, more rebounding, and that overall helps your defense,'" Popovich said."Length helps you with deflections and that sort of thing, keeping people out of the paint. So it's been the emphasis since the beginning of training camp that we would behoove ourselves to improve defensively.", who is in his fourth season with San Antonio, it became evident early in camp just how much defense was going to be the focus.
Beyond the box score, Wembanyama's presence alters multiple shots per game, whether it be players second-guessing shot attempts or immediately passing out of would-be shots because of the rookie's looming presence. Most of the shots that are attempted on him, meanwhile, aren't falling.According to Second Spectrum tracking data, when Wembanyama is the closest contesting defender, opponents are shooting a paltry 33.
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