LAS VEGAS — Victor Vembanyama played limited minutes off the bench in Saint AnthonyThe Spurs beat Oklahoma City on Saturday in the Emirates NBA Cup semifinals, and Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said the team could take a similar approach in Tuesday's championship game against the Emirates. New York Knicks.
“It will be a mixture of different opinions,” Vembanyama said on Monday. “But I'm ready. Even I will have my own opinion. [about what to do]. This will also be based on my thoughts and the thoughts of the staff. I just said a bunch of nothing. But in principle we are going to discuss it.”
Vembanyama came off the bench for the first time in his career on Saturday, having missed 12 games with a left calf sprain. He played 21 minutes against the Thunder, scoring 15 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter while the rest of his teammates combined for 18 points.
Wembanyama did not enter the game until early in the second quarter, when Oklahoma City led by 11 points. Vembanyama had three rebounds, a layup and an assist. Dylan HarperThree-pointer on his first three possessions. The Spurs center scored five points in the second quarter, and San Antonio cut the Thunder's lead to three points at halftime.
“I know Vic wanted to come out and play more, but we're focused on his long term. [health],” Spurs defender Devin Wassell said. “I trust Mitch 100 percent. They had the perfect plan. I know they talked about it over and over again and we delivered. Once Vic came in, he made the impact we needed.”
A similar strategy could be used Tuesday against the Knicks.
“Victor and I will continue to discuss this topic,” Johnson said. “It's tough. He wants to play. He wants to start. He wants to finish. Wherever you spend a few minutes means you have less minutes. Unfortunately, we still have to think about what's best for the team. It's a decision that can't be made in a vacuum, although it's a very influential decision. We still need to make sure it's consistent with the other formations, who's playing who and how it affects others.”
Vembanyama is still eligible for major individual awards despite already missing out on time. Although the NBA Championship Game will not count toward the standings, it will count toward the NBA's 65-game rule toward awards.
In the NBA Cup semi-final, the Spurs tried to stretch Wembanyama's minutes limit as much as possible. After playing just over seven minutes in the first half, Vembanyama made it back 13:20 after the break.
“We're not at the point where we're going to unintentionally distribute his minutes, whether it's volume over time. [or] long periods,” Johnson said. “But we want to make sure that we have learned or continue to learn from what happened. This doesn't mean we have the answers. But we don't just say, “Oh, we're back now” or anything like that. We're still learning and we want to remember that.”
