Everything about the Spurs revolves around their young star Victor Wembanyama, but he can’t do it alone if this team has any ambitions to win this season. So far, Jeremy Sochan has been the closest thing to a co-star for Wemby but his struggles at the point guard position this season is drawing some major questions about not only his capabilities, but the coaching capabilities of head coach Gregg Popovich
“There have been moments where it’s like, ‘Yo, I don’t want to’… It’s like, ‘f*ck this sh*t’,” said Sochan, via San Antonio Express News. “It’s the first time I have ever played point guard in my life.”
Sochan has really been a poor fit running point this season, but Popovich is seemingly determined to make it work since he keeps running it during games. Sochan, a 6’9″ swingman out of Baylor, has typically played power forward on the court and it’s clear to see that he’s learning how to run an offense on the fly. But unless something changes soon, Pop may have to pull the plug on that experiment or it could jeopardize the Spurs’ ranking in the Western Conference.
Wembanyama Needs A Point Guard
Popovich might not be compelled to try Sochan at the point if he had a more reliable option in the backcourt. But with a rotation that includes Devin Vassell and Doug McDermott, the Spurs don’t really have a true floor general on the roster. Of course, that’s at a detriment to their young star Victor Wembanyama, who has had an up-and-down season so far. With averages of 19.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game on 46% shooting, Wemby has been fine so far but he could be even better if he had a guard to get him the ball in his favorite spots.
In the loss to the Timberwolves on Friday, Victor himself was tied for the most assists on the team while Sochan, the ting point guard, finished with just 14 points and 5 assists in 30 minutes of action. While the Spurs are not the first time to try this no-point guard strategy, they aren’t really in a position to benefit from it given how good Victor Wembanyama is and the timeline he has put the entire Spurs franchise on.
Slow Start For San Antonio
After winning the lottery this summer, there was a sense that the Spurs would be an instant hit with Wemby on the floor. And while it’s impossible to deny that the kid has been impressive so far, the Spurs have been much less so through the first two weeks of the season. With a 3-6 record so far, the Spurs are showing their age as a group and it remains to be seen if they have enough talent and experience to make a playoff run this year.
Regardless of what happens in the future, the Spurs will need to develop their roster to put Victor in the best position to win a title. For now, exploring the potential of Jeremy Sochan and others is a decent enough place to start but the pressure to win is already there for the Spurs and they probably shouldn’t waste too much time testing out long-shot strategies.
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