2023-12-24 08:24:16
Sitting on the bench, Victor Wembanyama was unable to help his teammates, once again largely beaten this Saturday evening during a trip to neighboring Dallas (144-119). He even had to watch the rout, from the first to the last minute, with his mine closed, and he undoubtedly said to himself that the road was still going to be long to make this team a team that counts in the NBA…
The Frenchman, already absent in Milwaukee at the start of the week due to pain in his right ankle, actually worsened his case during the warm-up: he stepped on the foot of a ball boy. “I’ve never seen that,” commented his coach Gregg Popovich afterwards. You see the video, you don’t believe it. »
Back in the locker room, Victor Wembanyama underwent treatment, felt ready to play, and even returned to the floor to finish his warm-up, without any apparent discomfort. But Gregg Popovich preferred to leave it to rest. The season is long and the development of the number 1 from the last Draft is considered more important than a simple regular season match. Victor Wembanyama thus missed his 3rd match of the season. “If it had been a playoff game, I probably would have lined him up,” Popovich continued. I preferred to be careful. He wasn’t very happy not to play. »
Without their 2.22m giant, the Spurs sank, even more than usual. They conceded 144 points, their 3rd highest total of the season, and recorded their 24th defeat in 28 games. They even started to rotate their squad from the third quarter.
A situation which benefited Sidy Cissoko, who was able to gain additional minutes in the NBA. The other French Spurs played 14 minutes during the 3rd and 4th quarters. A way for Gregg Popovich to test it and see how the Ile-de-France native, trained in Essonne (Ris-Orangis), meets expectations at the highest level? Certainly. Cissoko had already scrounged up a few minutes in the middle of the week in Chicago. For his third appearance of the season, he scored his first two points in the NBA, two free throws, but above all he was able to show how useful his energy and aggressiveness could be to the Spurs (3 rebounds, 2 interceptions).
Victor Wembanyama left as he came: a large blue hood hiding his face. He now has a few days to recover before the next meeting, the reception of the Utah Jazz on Tuesday, the day after Christmas.
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