Victor Wembanyama has returned to the starting lineup tonight as the Spurs face the Timberwolves in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This update comes after being listed as questionable for tonight’s game despite coming off the bench in the past three games.
The former No. 1 overall pick will replace Luke Kornet in the starting lineup, who had taken over as a starter in the 14 games Wembanyama missed and nine games where he came off the bench.
The new starting lineup for the Spurs will be: De’Aaron Fox (PG), Stephon Castle (SG), Julian Champaignie (SF), Harrison Barnes (PF), Victor Wembanyama (C). Four players are sitting out for the Spurs: Devin Vassell, the key role player, is missing from tonight’s game.
Meanwhile, three players are out for the Timberwolves, but no key players are missing. Moreover, the good news for them is that Anthony Edwards is playing tonight after being listed as questionable initially as well.
They needed their star player available tonight as the Timberwolves go up against Victor Wembanyama and the No. 2-seeded Spurs. But in an odd update, the team confirmed that Chris Finch, their head coach, will not be on the sidelines today due to illness.
Before tonight’s game, the French star spoke to the media and explained that he intended to eventually break into the starting lineup and maintain it consistently throughout the season.
Wembanyama, who has been struggling with a calf injury this season, has played in 24 games for the Spurs. His record is 17-7, of which nine were games where he came off the bench. The Spurs have an 8-1 record in those fixtures and are 9-6 with Wembanyama as a starter.
Considering that the Spurs are 27-11 for the season heading into this game, this means that they had a 10-4 record when Wembanyama did not play. Clearly, the highest winning percentage for them so far this season has come when Wembanyama has provided a unique edge from the bench on a minutes restriction.
The 22-year-old French star averaged 19.4 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting 52.0% from the field when coming off the bench. Contrarily, he averaged 26.9 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in the games where he was a starter. He shot 51.9% from the floor, essentially the same efficiency as when he comes off the bench.
Therefore, even though the Spurs were stringing together a run of form without their franchise player in the starting lineup, let’s not hastily jump to the conclusion that the Spurs are better without him on the floor. His production on both ends of the floor is much better as a starter.
The coaching staff has been increasing his usage on the floor consistently over the past three games and is now comfortable to resume having their franchise player back in the starting lineup.
Early on in the season, Wembanyama was primed to be in the MVP and DPOY discussions, but injuries have hampered those dreams. If Wembanyama misses four more games this season, then he will miss the chance to be considered for postseason awards.
They now simply need to figure out their identity as a team and analyze where Wembanyama fits best into their systems to get the best results for the team and the French star has full faith in the franchise to do so.
