Victor Wembanyama has gotten hype from just about everyone in the basketball world leading up to the opening night of the NBA season. He backed it up on opening night by dominating the Dallas Mavericks
with 40 points, 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks on 15-21 shooting in the San Antonio Spurs’ 125-92 victory. The superstar’s performance led the Spurs to their first opening-night victory since the 2019-20 season.
The Mavericks hung around for about 20 minutes, until the Spurs started to pull away at the end of the second quarter. San Antonio never looked back after establishing a 20-point lead in the third quarter.
They built their lead with stout defense that led to easy buckets on the offensive end. The Spurs held the Mavs to 37.3% shooting. They stole the ball 10 times and scored 19 points off turnovers. They owned the paint, outscoring Dallas 68-26 inside.
Wembanyama will get all of the attention with his stellar play, but his running mate, Stephon Castle, should get a lot of credit as well. The former Rookie of the Year was disruptive defensively, holding first-overall pick Cooper Flagg to just 10 points in his NBA debut. Castle had 22 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals in the win. Anthony Davis led the way for the Mavericks, putting up 22 points and 13 rebounds in the loss.
The Spurs will look to improve to 2-0 in New Orleans against the Pelicans on Friday night.
Observations
- Area 51 is back. Castle and Wembanyama’s chemistry was evident in the season opener. Castle was looking for the big man all night. He hit Wemby for a monster lob in transition in the second quarter. Their two-man game was evident in several of the Spurs’ actions. They used the twosome in dribble handoffs and pick-and-rolls to get Castle going downhill, then would use the guard as a screener to draw smaller defenders onto Wembanyama. Seeing the chemistry between the two crucial young players is encouraging.
- The Spurs made a big second-half run thanks to some aggressive defense near the end of the quarter. With Wembanyama manning the back line of the defense, San Antonio’s wings were able to play aggressively in the passing lanes, swiping the ball from the Mavericks and scoring tough buckets in transition. When the front court is creating havoc, the Spurs’ transition game really shines.
- The aggressiveness that Wembanyama showed in the preseason carried over to the regular season. Many times, he just powered through Dallas defenders on his way to a paint score and finished plenty of and-1s. His footwork and control are on another level than in previous seasons. He showed incredible touch on runners around the basket. Overall, he looks more in control of his body and composed than in his first two seasons. That’s a problem for the rest of the NBA.
- Keldon Johnson was a beast on the boards, grabbing a pair of offensive boards. He’s a true burst of energy off the bench with his effort inside. With Dylan Harper running the show off the bench and Mitch Johnson staggering his lineups so either Castle or Vassell joined him, KJ was able to play off the ball more, where he could make an impact with his offensive rebounding and cutting.
- The Spurs ran a lot of offense out of the “horns” set, with Wembanyama and Harrison Barnes filling the high post spots. They ran a bunch of dribble handoffs, some fades over the top for shooters like Vassell, and isolation plays for Wembanyama out of the set. The initial movement helped the Spurs easily get into their offense, get their guards going downhill and set up easy looks for Wemby.
- Harper looked a bit nervous to start the game, but finally settled in late in the second quarter. The rookie had 15 points and 2 assists in the win. He continued to show his finishing skills around the hoop and made some nice passes in the half-court. He’ll be crucial to the Spurs having a successful second unit.
