The last time Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren faced off, the shot block heard around the world was captured and etched in the minds of hoops fanatics as a play for the ages. It’s still baffling to see two guys of Wemby and Chet’s stature facing each other in one-on-one situations and isolating each other, but it does make for great highlights.

As fun as it is to see the two unicorns go head-to-head, the way they are measured against each other is inadequate. While talented, Holmgren isn’t considered the best player on the Thunder roster; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has that title. Wemby, on the other hand, is the focal point of the Spurs attack, making him the focus of the Thunder’s defensive game plan.

Wembanyama talked about this one day when he emphasized that he is usually forced to deal with consistent double teams, while Chet is allowed to play one-on-one because you can’t let OKC’s other players, one of the top three to stand. -point shooting teams in the league, open.

Last season, the Thunder had the highest three-point percentage in the league at 38.9%. That gives your team a ridiculous amount of room to work in the middle of the court, and this is the NBA. Players are extremely talented and most will find ways to score more often than not if they have room to operate.

San Antonio was on the opposite end of the spectrum last season. As a team ranked 28th from deep, there was no reason for OKC to pay as much attention to the players on the wing, so they were able to collapse more at Wemby, allowing the primary defender to get help from the team’s reigning Rookie almost every time . Year put the ball on the ground, which highlights the biggest key to tonight’s game.

The very first time the Spurs played the Thunder last season, Wemby was ill-prepared for the intensity that OKC brought. He was still adjusting to a different style of basketball than the gameplay abroad, and it showed in his inconsistency. He finished that game with eight points, 14 rebounds and two blocks on 27% shooting from the field.

Throw that away. Not even a month into the season and the team was still experimenting with Jeremy Sochan at point guard. A lot of things have to be left out during that episode.

In their first rematch, Wemby came out to play and dropped 24 points on 50% shooting while adding 12 boards, four assists and four blocks, resulting in a 140–114 loss. Chet also played well in that game, with 17 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks, but the Alien clearly outscored him.

It didn’t matter, though, as SGA went ballistic – scoring 32 points on 15 shots – Jalen Williams was a problem, Aaron Wiggins dropped 22 points, and even Josh Giddey, who had the worst year of his career last season, dropped 12 points added for efficient shooting.

The only game San Antonio won was their third game on February 29, and it was a total team effort. Wemby and Devin Vassell each scored 28 points, Jeremy Sochan dropped 21 and Tre Jones added 17. Even Zach Collins had an efficient night with 13 points after going down 5-7.

Wembanyama is developing a reputation for making big appearances in the big games, and if Spurs want to steal this game while missing Vassell, every player who steps on the floor needs to be ready to play clean and be aggressive. and especially taking their photos.

OKC is too good to think you can win a low-scoring affair. Unfortunately, they are also one of the best defensive teams in the league. The Thunder are 12-point favorites for a reason, and if the Spurs want to prove the oddsmakers wrong, any player better lock in.