Whoever attended this game simply to watch Victor Wembanyama got their money’s worth and then some.
In the first 80 seconds of the game, the Spurs rookie phenom blocked Jakob Poeltl, drained a three and threw down an alley-oop. Darko Rajakovic had tor burn a timeout just 80 seconds in, and that became the common theme as the Raptors were spanked by a 10-43 team in embarrassing fashion. San Antonio came in on a seven game losing streak but led by as many as 31 points.
Locking in Rookie of the Year?
This may be the game that separates Wemby from Chet Holmgren in Rookie of the Year voting. Wembanyama was mesmerizing all game with a dazzling display of shooting, handles, playmaking and freakish athleticism. On one play, Wembanyama drove and dunked by seven footer Jakob Poeltl like he wasn’t even there.
And this is just the offensive stuff.
Wembanyama had 27 points and 14 rebounds off 10-14 shooting. He probably could have taken more attempts but everything was in the flow of the offence.
The scary part is Wemby was even better defensively. The 20 year old leads the NBA in blocks at three per game. He hit that average in the first five minutes.
Poeltl and Scottie Barnes were stuffed seven times combined whether they tried to throw Wemby off with fakes or not. Scottie especially was rejected twice on the same play. Even when Wembanyama wasn’t Barnes main defender, he rotated off Bruce Brown on a slip to the rim to block Barnes from behind.
Wembanyama’s tenth block was probably the easiest, swatting an out of control Gradey Dick. He did this all in 29 minutes.
The Spurs lineage continues. Wembanyama is now the fourth rookie in NBA history to record a triple double with blocks and the first rookie to do so since David Robinson in 1990. It’s the first 20 point-rebound-block triple-double combination the Raptors have ever allowed.
Wemby now has two triple-doubles this season, one with assists and the other with blocks. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he manages to hit double digits for both categories in the same game and becomes the first player to record a quadruple-double since 1994 (again, done by The Admiral).
Wembanyama had five first half assists, but didnt get another one. He was asked about quad-double potential.
Scottie Barnes
This might have been Scottie’s roughest game of the season. The first sticking point was too many unnecessary turnovers (5) on passes like these.
His attitude also left a lot to be desired. It’s becoming common for Scottie to lag back defensively after a negative play or look for/yell at the refs on a missed call instead of getting back on defence.
Barnes did have nine rebounds and nine assists but only had seven points on 3-15 shooting. He also left his teammates to go to the locker room with three seconds remaining. Pascal Siakam was suspended a few seasons ago for a similar act. It will be interesting to see what approach is taken with the new face of the franchise.
Rajakovic was also displeased with the entire team’s mindset.
Positive Notes
Gradey Dick has arrived folks. He led the team in scoring for the second time in his career, finishing with 18 points. Gradey now is above 40 percent from the field and 36 behind the arc. He went on a 10 point (4-4 FG) barrage in the last four minutes of the first quarter. The most encouraging basket from Dick was his pullup jumper drifting left over Cedi Osman.
Kelly Olynyk has played two solid games with the Raptors, tallying up 17 points, five rebounds and three steals. His experience, shooting and playmaking ability is a valuable addition to the bench even if it was masked by the final result last night.
Olynyk also was the only Raptor to effectively score on Wembanyama without being blocked, using an array of crafty moves.
Sidenotes
Chris Boucher has been a DNP-CD in six of the last seven games. Darko was asked about that.
Up Next: Pascal Siakam returns on Valentines Day. It’s the final game before the All-Star break.
