The Spurs are currently 23-9 for the season after losing 112-101 against the Cavaliers. The most notable story around the Spurs was that their franchise player, Victor Wembanyama, was coming off the bench instead of playing as a starter until their last game against the Jazz.
This did not sit well with the Celtics legend Paul Pierce, who feels that no superstar in NBA history has accepted a role coming off the bench in the prime of their career. At age 21, Pierce believes Wembanyama should be fighting for a starter role instead.
Pierce recorded an episode of his podcast with Danny Green, ‘No Fouls Given,’ where he spoke his mind on Victor Wembanyama.
“Wemby is the third option on his own team right now. The man is a sixth man right now. How are you coming off the bench? Why are you accepting coming off the bench right now? But I’m not accepting.. I’ve never seen a superstar of his magnitude accept coming off the bench for multiple games.”
His co-hosts, Danny Green and Big Wos, also pointed to other factors like Wembanyama’s respect for the coaching staff and seeing other legendary players like Stephen Curry and Kobe Bryant come off the bench in their careers, too.
Yet, Pierce pointed out that they never accepted a role coming off the bench for more than one game. They would never accept a scenario where the winning formula for the franchise is them coming off the bench. However, San Antonio seems to have found their groove with this new strategy.
“What superstar have you seen do this? Here’s the crazy thing about it, too: They’re on a winning streak. So what do you do, keep them coming off the bench?” said Pierce as he questioned the Spurs’ decisions as a result of their winning streak.
Wembanyama still seems to be on a minutes restriction as he finished tonight with 26 points, 14 rebounds, and three assists in just 27 minutes played. He struggled for efficiency on offense as he shot 7-of-16 from the floor (43.8%).
During the six games in which he came off the bench, he averaged 18.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists, which, on the face of it, seems worse than his performance tonight. However, the Spurs are currently the second seed in the Western Conference, only behind the OKC Thunder as a result of their winning streak during this time.
Before their loss to the Jazz on Saturday, the Spurs were on an eight-game winning streak in the regular season (excluding their loss to the Knicks in the NBA Cup championship game).
In most of these games, Wembanyama was either absent or coming off the bench. Therefore, the question that looms over the Spurs is whether Wembanyama is more effective coming off the bench and whether they want to disrupt the chemistry building between the starting lineup that brought success to them.
The French wonderkid came off the bench for eight straight games before making it back into the starting lineup against the Jazz in their last game. Following the consecutive losses to the Jazz and the Cavaliers, the looming question for the Spurs is whether Wembanyama was more effective in the game coming off the bench, considering he is still on a minutes restriction.
Considering that the Spurs have now lost back-to-back games since Wembanyama moved to the starter role, do you think Wembanyama is better off coming off the bench for the team, or should he listen to Pierce and bring his ego as a superstar into the picture? Let us know your opinions in the comments section.
