- Phoenix had a clear defensive play for San Antonio. They put starting center, Jusuf Nurkic, on Jeremy Sochan or another non-shooter like Blake Wesley or Malaki Branham, and doubled Wembanyama hard in the paint. When Devin Vassell tried to shake loose off screens, he was met with immediate double teams. The gameplan against the Spurs has become clear – make anyone but Wembanyama and Vassell beat you.
- The Suns dared Wesley to shoot from deep, and he made them pay hitting both of his three-point attempts. The second-year guard had a solid game off the bench with 12 points, 3 assists and 2 steals. He played tough defense on Booker for a few possessions as well. Wesley has put together some nice games this season, boding well for a role on next year’s squad.
- If the Spurs want to play with the Suns on Monday, they’ll need to find some sort of answer for Booker and Kevin Durant. On Saturday they stuck Sochan on Durant, who did a solid job. Julian Champagnie guarded Booker and had a hard time keeping up. Because of Nurkic’s size, Wembanyama has to be occupied guarding him, even if his length could also give Durant issues. Figuring out a way to make it harder on the Suns stars could help them avoid another blowout loss.
Source: https://www.poundingtherock.com/2024/3/ ... a-popovich