NBA: Strongest In The History Of Holding A Large Ball

After thinking for a long time, Chang Tiancheng finally spoke: "Coach, don't you want to talk about his ability in defense?"

"Hahahahaha" Popovich suddenly laughed, "It's you, Chang." You can see the most important part at a glance.

After curbing his laughter a little, Popovich continued: "In fact, there are not many talents that Viktor has on the surface now that can really be transformed into instant combat power.

Chang Tiancheng nodded, he also knew that although Wembanyama had a sense of the ball that did not match his height at all, and he could run and jump, his hands and feet were long, and he had a pretty good shooting touch.

But not to mention in the NBA, even in the French league and some of the previous European games, there are not many bright spots that he can really show on the offensive end.

The most impressive thing for the audience should be that he can take the ball outside the three-point line, and then go straight to the basket, which can fully reflect the coordination of his body, the advantage of stride length brought by long legs, and the feel.

But his main problem is that he is too thin, his back is actually basically in a state that he can't count on before he meets Giannis, even if he has been specially trained to fight Giannis, he mostly chooses to shoot hooks against slightly smaller shots, rather than direct attacks that kill the interior like Yao Ming at the peak.

And what's even more troublesome is that his thinness also leads to the fact that the quality of his cover is not high, and he can only rely on his height and reach advantage to complete some misplaced finishes, which is why he and Chang Tiancheng generally like to choose outside bullets after the blocking.

As for his unique ability to break through with the ball, it can only be displayed occasionally in a game at this level in the NBA, and cannot be used as a regular offensive method. After all, if the people here bump into him at least a little, he can easily lose his balance.

His shooting is not very consistent, and even with the blessing of Chang Tiancheng's "God of Point Guard" skills, his shooting percentage is not high. The mid-range shot is reasonable, but the three-point is a near-disaster performance.

When the Spurs use him, they use him more on the offensive end as an outside lineman. Only occasionally do an inside threat, mostly dangling outside the three-point line.

But there is another, more important reason that made him the top pick, and that is his excellent defensive ability.

Even in a game of this level in the NBA, anyone who wants to directly hold the ball to the basket to challenge Wembanyama will basically be invited to eat hot pot by Wembanyama. Even if you shoot a three-pointer in the corner, there's a good chance you'll be covered by Wembanyama.

The Spurs chose to let him float as far outside as possible on the offensive end, which was also convenient for him to retreat as soon as he retreated.

As long as Wembanyama is on the court, even when the opponent plays a fast break, he must consider whether he can directly complete the counterattack and layup.

Like Fox before, even on the premise of getting rid of Wembanyama, he still strode after him from behind and pressed the ball directly on the rebound.

Even if you keep hovering in the air when you go to the basket, he may complete a block.

When Wembanyama is on the pitch, the opponent will even change the way the whole team plays because of him.

Bill Russell once said, "It's not about covering every ball, it's about making the opposing players think they can cover every shot." "

As long as Wembanyama is still standing in the penalty area, the opposite side will instinctively choose to bypass the Spurs' interior and choose to attack on the outside as much as possible, so we have to consider whether Wembanyama will make up for it.

This is the most intuitive instant power that Wembanyama brings to the Spurs. Perhaps the help he brings on the offensive end is limited, but on the defensive end, it's no exaggeration to say that he directly helped the Spurs build a well-developed defensive system. And he is the core pillar of this system.

Before Wembanyama, the only way to pose such a defensive threat was the performance of Davis, a freshman with thick eyebrows, in Kentucky that season.

"We chose Victor because we wanted to build a defensive system around him, after all, after Thiem's retirement, we haven't had a core of our defensive system for a long time. Popovich said as he watched Wembanyama give the Kings another block.

'As for the offensive end, I'm not worried. Do you know why?" Popovich looked at Chang Tiancheng with a smile on his face.

"It can't be because of me. Chang Tiancheng was stared at by Popovich like this, and suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

"Because of you, of course, you have to be confident, always. Popovich smiled, "Although I noticed your talent when you were with the Lakers, at that time I was more inclined to use you as the key to the team's system to help Wembanyama grow, and I didn't think that you would be the core of the team's offensive end."

"What I didn't expect was that the quality you showed last season was a bit exaggerated. This also allows me to stop worrying about the offensive side at all, so that you and Wembanyama can attack and defend, and our team is generally formed.

Chang Tiancheng looked at Popovich, but he was thinking about Wembanyama.

He knows that if the Spurs want to win the championship, he can naturally guarantee the team's lower limit, but basketball is a five-player game after all, and how far Wembanyama can grow will determine when they can win the championship.

While defense is Wembanyama's main skill, how far he can grow on the offensive end is what really determines his ceiling.

Although he already knows a lot of things now, such as a step-back three-point shot, a three-point shot at the top of the arc that is forced against the defense, an empty arc top, and a turnaround layup after heads-up... He can do almost anything, but none of his offensive skills can be called a killer move.

This makes Wembanyama always worse when attacking, and once the opponent gives too much confrontation, the Spurs can only rely on Chang Tiancheng to kill the game.

Chang Tiancheng sat on the bench like this and fell into deep thought, during this period, Popovich did not talk to him again, probably because he saw that Chang Tiancheng was thinking and didn't want to disturb him.

Time passed quickly, and the second quarter was over and it was halftime.

Wembanyama scored only two points in the second quarter, but he scored five more blocks to show his dominance on the defensive end.