The San Antonio Spurs evened their second-round series with the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday by burying them under a 38-point blowout, the worst playoff loss in Wolves history. Stephen Castle, De'Aaron Fox and Harrison Barnes all delivered, the Spurs nailed 16 of 39 from three, and Victor Wembanyama looked closer to himself than he had in Game 1. And yet on First Take, Skip Bayless still couldn't shake one nagging conviction: the alien is half a player.
"The Wolves should fear the Spurs, who have taken back control of this series to me psychologically, but they should not fear the alien," Bayless told Stephen A. Smith on his return to the show. "To me, he's still half a player, and he's an extraordinary half — the defensive half."
Bayless's evidence ran straight back to Game 1, when Wembanyama swatted away 12 shots — a series-defining defensive performance — but went five-of-17 from the floor, missed all eight of his three-point attempts, and reached the free-throw line just twice.
"He had more blocks than he did points," Bayless said. "Twelve blocks is ridiculous. So to me, I still don't see him play to his height in the half court in their offense, where they play him off the elbow, they lob it to him with his back to the basket, and he dribbles backward out and he creates off-the-dribble step-back threes. What are you doing, man?"
Game 2 wasn't quite the answer. Wembanyama took seven threes and made two, while teammates feasted from the perimeter to lift the Spurs to their record-setting blowout.
"He still doesn't play to his height commanding the basketball on the offensive end," Bayless said. "I don't get it. He still views himself — I think he looks in the mirror and sees a two guard. I don't understand it. The Wolves don't fear him in there. He could foul out Gobert in the first half if he really wanted to, if he just camped, posted up and called for the basketball and turned and went. I just don't see him do that very often."
Bayless drew the contrast with Chet Holmgren, the Oklahoma City Thunder big who has hung 24 on the Lakers in this same playoff window.
"Oklahoma City uses Chet Holmgren to shoot threes, but he's a better three-point shooter than Wemby is," Bayless said. "Chet will just go post up out at the three-point line. He'll just go spot up and they'll whip it around the perimeter and he'll have a wide-open three. But Wemby tries to create threes. It's almost like he can't stand being down low. He doesn't like the look of it. He doesn't like the feel of it."
Stephen A. Smith pushed back on the framing. He doesn't disagree that Wembanyama's settling for off-the-dribble triples is sub-optimal — but he refused to accept the comparison drawn elsewhere on the show between Wemby and James Harden.
"You have to fear Wemby from the standpoint that his defensive prowess is unmatched," Smith said. "He's leading in blocked shots, averaging five blocked shots a game throughout these playoffs. We know what he brings to the game defensively, and we know that he anchors San Antonio's top-notch defense. We understand that 7-foot-5 causes problems."
Smith's bigger point was about temperament. Wembanyama is being targeted by Rudy Gobert and Julius Randle, and Smith argued his response in Game 2 was the right one.
"They're throwing bodies at him, and they're making him feel them. What does he do? He responds in kind in Game 2," Smith said. "Wemby ain't out there just lollygagging. He's looking to make things happen. He's been overaggressive in some instances, but I'd rather that than him coming across as passive. So I'm not as worried about him as much as I would be worried about somebody like Harden in terms of their assertiveness and aggressiveness."
The series shifts to San Antonio for Game 3 with the Spurs holding the psychological edge after their 38-point Game 2 win. Bayless is still waiting for the version of Wembanyama who buries Gobert in the post on every possession. Smith sees a 22-year-old who has already proved he won't shrink. Both could be right at once — and that, more than anything, is the open question of San Antonio's playoff run.
