San Antonio have a Victor Wembanyama problem as star makes glaring NBA Finals admission

Perhaps the San Antonio Spurs are too reliant on Victor Wembanyama

The Spurs suffered a 123-108 defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night, to go 2-1 down in the Western Conference finals.

Getty

The defeat marked back-to-back loses for San Antonio, after winning the opening game of the series, a thriller in double-overtime.

Victor Wembanyama shined in the Game 1 win, collecting 41 points and grabbing 24 rebounds, setting multiple NBA records in the process.

He continued his fine form on Friday, collecting a team-high 26 points in 39-minutes on the court.

It’s the first time since Tim Duncan in 2007 that a Spurs player has made 20 points or more in three consecutive matches.

Wembanyama is considered to be one of the best players in the NBA right now, and his importance to a hugely talented – but very young – Spurs is undoubtedly huge.

Spurs lack of depth exposed once again in Game 3 loss

San Antonio surged to a 15-0 lead inside the opening three minutes of the match, the highest lead a team has taken at the start of a NBA Playoffs match since 1997.

However, the Thunder bounced back, scoring 76 points off the bench, with Jaylin Williams coming onto the court to make two long-range baskets and a free throw to push the Spurs to within five points of the hosts at the end of the first quarter.

The Spurs lost momentum as the match progressed, and questions are being asked about Mitch Johnson’s side’s depth off the bench.

Oklahoma’s bench has outscored San Antonio’s by 107-28 in the first three games of the series.

Wemby is having one of the best playoff runs in recent memory, but teams take advantage when he is off the court.

Getty

Getty

Spurs are now -38 in the 26 minutes Wemby has been off court this series, +29 in the minutes he’s been on court

The Spurs reliance on Wemby has been evident throughout the playoffs, however, it wasn’t during the regular season.

The Spurs had a 12-6 record and averaged 120.7 points per game without Wembanyama this season, according to Statmuse.

Wemby makes honest admission after Game 3 loss

For the first time this postseason, San Antonio lost a game in which Wembanyama scored 25 points or more.

“I feel like I’m having trouble making my teammates better right now,” Wembanyama said after the game, via ESPN.

“My shooting splits aren’t terrible. I need to be more of a team player, facilitate better, rebound the ball better, push their defense a little bit further and see how much they need to help with my teammates and feed them.”

getty

When asked about the Spurs struggling bench, Wembanyama made wanted to make sure all members of the roster were held accountable, not just the reserves.

“I feel like each and every one of us got to be better,” Wembanyama added. “It’s just that as a team, as an organization, there’s a lot of new experiences.

“We’re just going to have to find the answers. It’s my first playoffs. It’s the first playoffs for many of us.

“Of course, there was going to be hard trials. That’s to be expected. But now, we’re going to see what we’re made of.”

Stay up to date with the NBA across all our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ET