The fears everyone had when Victor Wembanyama was ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Kings came true. His calf soreness was confirmed to be a calf strain, and he will be out indefinitely. He’s expected
to be reevaluated in two to three weeks, but unless it’s a mild strain, he could miss more time.
Shutting down Wembanyama the second he had a calf issue was the right thing to do, even before an MRI confirmed his injury. Several stars have seen discomfort in that area turn into serious, season-ending injuries in recent years. The Spurs should be patient with him.
While the news could have been worse, the reality is that Wembanyama’s absence is a huge blow for a Spurs team that started hot and was beginning to look like a dark-horse contender in the West. So let’s look at what it all means for San Antonio.
It will be trial by fire for the rest of the bigs
Luke Kornet started in Wembanyama’s place against the Kings on Sunday and was fantastic, considering his limitations. He finished with 13 shots in five shots, 11 rebounds, and three blocks. The Spurs know what they have in the veteran. He should fit in nicely as a rim protector, finisher, and offensive rebounder. The question marks start after him.
Jeremy Sochan was considered a part of the Spurs’ young core until recently. He started to see his minutes drop last season and wasn’t offered an extension over the summer. This year, he played arguably a smaller role in a few games, as Mitch Johnson decided to prioritize Harrison Barnes’ shooting and Kornet’s size next to Wembanyama. In his defense, when he’s had a chance to play, he’s looked good. If his recent hot shooting proves sustainable (5-for-10 to start the season, albeit in wide-open looks), this could be the stretch in which he plays his way back into a big rotation role. Even if it doesn’t, the Spurs will need his defense and hustle. He has the most to gain, as he’s slated to enter free agency next summer, but he’s not the only one with eyes on him.
Olynyk, who’s on an affordable expiring contract that makes him a prime trade piece, will also get an opportunity to get minutes in hopes of securing more than the minimum next season after not playing much or moving the needle in his last few stops. And Bismack Biyombo, who has been an abject disaster in his very limited minutes this season, will have to show he deserves a spot in the rotation, since his contract won’t be guaranteed until January, making him a prime target to get waived if the front office feels it needs more front-court depth. It’s time to produce for all the bigs, or face questions about their future.
De’Aaron Fox and Mitch Johnson will get the chance to earn the fans’ trust
Wembanyama is the Spurs’ centerpiece. He’s the main reason they have an elite defense and he’s one of the top scorers in the league. Basketball is a team sport, but no one would balk at the notion that San Antonio looks ahead of schedule in their return to contention because of their superstar big man. With him gone, it will be on the team’s second-best player and its head coach to show that there’s more to San Antonio’s good start than Wemby.
Let’s start with Johnson. He got a pass last season because he kept the team together after Gregg Popovich’s and Wembanyama’s health scares. Now that he’s not an interim coach anymore, the pressure grows. So far, he’s looked good on some aspects of his job, like not being rigid with rotations and not overcomplicating things for a team that lacks familiarity. He’s also displayed limited tactical creativity, both in set plays and offensive and defensive schemes. Wemby made a lot look good on sheer dominance alone, but now Johnson will have to show that he can make the right adjustments. The optimistic outlook is that without the crutch that is Wembanyama’s rim protection and with more freedom to get others involved, Mitch will get to show his chops as more than just a motivator and entrench himself as the coach of the present and the future.
As for Fox, a player of his caliber and resume shouldn’t have to prove himself, but the Spurs traded away assets for him, and they spent the second overall pick on Dylan Harper, a promising rookie who plays the same position. He’s missed time with injury and has alternated between great and surprisingly bad performances so far this season. With Wemby, Harper, and even Stephon Castle, who will miss at least one game with a hip flexor injury, all out, the ball will be in Fox’s hands. History shows he knows what to do in those situations, as he averages over 21 points and six assists for his career, but the Silver and Black’s faithful haven’t seen him at the height of his powers yet. If he can carry the offense for a couple of weeks while leading his team to enough victories to remain in the playoff hunt, his place in the franchise won’t be questioned, at least for a while.
There are no silver linings to a Victor Wembanyama injury, but there is an opportunity for the front office to see how much of the good we’ve seen from the team so far, both from a roster and coaching perspective, has been driven by the play of the superstar big man. The Spurs will undoubtedly be worse off in the short term without him, but there might be some tough but important lessons to be learned in the troubled times ahead.
