After falling to the Stephen Curry-less Golden State Warriors, the San Antonio Spurs hosted the Houston Rockets for the second night of a back-to-back. Going up against the Rockets, who were playing without Alperen Sengun, several analysts and enthusiasts projected Gregg Popovich’s boys to grab their 15th win of the season with ease. However, the hosts failed to capitalize on Sengun’s absence. The 101-103 loss resulted in Skip Bayless expressing discontent with Victor Wembanyama.
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The battle between the two Texas teams was quite action-packed. Right from tip-off, both teams seemed determined to win. After 48 minutes of well-contested basketball, the bout witnessed 13 lead changes and 4 ties, before it ultimately ended in the Houston Rockets’ favor.
With Alperen Sengun suffering a season-ending injury, the Houston Rockets had the lankier Jabari Smith Jr. playing center and guarding Victor Wembanyama. Despite that, Wemby only managed to score 13 points, going 5-12 from the field and 2-7 from three-point land, as per NBA.com. As expected, the European sensation received a lot of criticism for a subpar showcase.
Victor Wembanyama tonight:
13 Points
5-12 FG
28% 3PTSB SHOULD’VE TOLD HIM SENGUN FINALLY GAVE HIM PERMISSION TO SCORE ‼️ pic.twitter.com/1hJAjYlnmU
— Hater Central (@TheHateCentral) March 13, 2024
Skip Bayless was among the numerous critics, who expressed his discontent with the 20-year-old’s mediocre outing. Taking to X (formerly “Twitter”), the UNDISPUTED analyst simply claimed that he anticipated a significantly better showing from the 2024 Rookie of the Year frontrunner.
No way should Wemby allow the Spurs to lose at home to the Rockets without Sengun. Wemby is so much better than that.
No way should Wemby allow the Spurs to lose at home to the Rockets without Sengun. Wemby is so much better than that.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 13, 2024
For a change, Bayless isn’t being impractical with his takes. Having a reputation for berating players, surprisingly, the 72-year-old was quite respectful of Wemby while criticizing him. And to be fair to the analyst, the Spurs were the favorites to win the contest with Sengun being out for the Rockets.
In their previous outing, exactly a week ago, Alperen Sengun had a dominant performance in the 114-101 victory, to say the least. The 21-year-old went off for a historic performance with a career-high of 45 points along with 16 rebounds, 5 steals, and 3 assists, as per ESPN.
Sengun’s absence was expected to hurt the Rockets. But, the San Antonio side simply failed to take advantage of the same.
