OKC's loss shows a troubling trend emerging early on for Wembanyama

Spurs center Victor Wembanyama recorded a career-low six points and a career-low in shot attempts with five in San Antonio's 105-93 loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday night. While Wembanyama was out for a short time with an injury and openly struggled with sinus infections, both the Thunder and Houston Rockets have come up with a plan to stop the rookie of the year.

Opposing teams realized early on that by using a smaller player and sending multiple bodies to defend the 6ft 2in Frenchman, Wemby would struggle to get looks into play, forcing him to pass the ball or to take a long shot. Equally demoralizing, Wembanyama is struggling to fight through contact and get to the free throw line.

Four of Wembanyama's six points against the Thunder came at the foul line, and all of his goals came in the first half. The second-year center has trouble getting around the basket as teams double-team him every time he gets the ball. It was a problem against OKC and a problem against Houston when Wembanyama scored 14 points on 6/14 shooting.

The solid inside presence means Wembanyama plays more on the wing. He shot 21 three-pointers in four games and hit just four (19%). Not only will his stats be affected, but so will the Spurs' offense.

General manager Brian Wright added some new faces last summer in guards Stephon Castle and Chris Paul and forward Harrison Barnes. The new additions have given this inexperienced Spurs team more experience and versatility, but they haven't been able to fully solve their biggest problem from last season, three-point shooting.

Paul and Barnes have been above-average three-point shooters throughout their careers. Both have career three-point percentages above 37%. But the gains weren't enough, as the team's three-point percentage at 33.6% is the ninth-lowest in the league.

One key player the Spurs are missing is guard Devin Vassell, who is in the final stages of rehabilitating a stress reaction in the third metatarsal of his right foot. His presence was sorely missed due to the lack of shot makers on offense.

With Vassell out, teams will focus on Wembanyama, aware that the rest of the squad doesn't have the firepower to keep up offensively. Opponents kill everyone, but Wembanyama beat them.

We're only four games into the 2024-25 season, so there's no reason to hit the panic button yet. With Vassell and Tre Jones missing some time, it will be difficult to make any definitive assumptions. Either way, Spurs fans would like to see their franchise man get some momentum on offense.

Wembanyama and the Spurs take the floor again in their first meeting of the season against the Utah Jazz on Halloween night at 8 p.m. (CDT) at the Delta Center.