Skip to content Victor Wembanyama turned the Golden State Warriors into a timid team terrified of the rim on Saturday night. Without Stephen Curry on the floor to stretch the defense, Golden State folded completely in a crushing 123-85 road loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
The 38-point rout exposed just how vulnerable Golden State looks without their superstar playmaker. But the most alarming part of the evening was not just the final score. It was the complete psychological collapse inside the paint, admitted candidly by rookie forward Yaxel Lendeborg after the final buzzer.
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Before tipoff, Lendeborg talked boldly about having a concrete plan to counter San Antonio’s 7-foot-3 sensation by stretching the floor and launching more three-pointers. Instead, the rookie crumbled against the French phenom, finishing with three points on 1-of-13 shooting while missing both of his attempts from deep.
How Victor Wembanyama broke the Warriors’ offense
Lendeborg did not hide from what happened when he faced the media in the locker room. Rather than offering standard postgame clichés, he explained how the Spurs’ interior defense completely wrecked Golden State’s offensive rhythm.
“Nobody wanted to go into the paint; they didn’t want to get their shot blocked by him, so we were all just doing a bunch of weak a– floaters.”
Golden State’s ball-handlers panicked whenever they stepped inside the arc. They repeatedly veered away from the basket, hoisting off-balance attempts from awkward angles because they dreaded meeting San Antonio’s center at the rim.
Lendeborg confessed that he abandoned his own strengths just to avoid getting swatted away. He attempted around seven floaters during his minutes, despite rarely practicing that shot. After watching his first attempt roll off the rim, Lendeborg lost his confidence entirely, airballing his next floater and unraveling for the remainder of the evening.
Fear inside the paint against Victor Wembanyama
Lendeborg admitted that the entire Golden State roster shrank from the challenge under the basket. He noted that their collective hesitation turned possessions into ugly possessions that resembled volleyball instead of crisp basketball execution.
“I just wasn’t being aggressive; he’s skinnier than me,” Lendeborg said of his matchups against the French star. He argued that he should have attacked the big man’s body directly, accepting a rejection rather than floating soft runners away from contact.
Instead, fear dictated every decision Golden State made around the basket. Lendeborg bluntly acknowledged that reality, stating plainly that all of them felt scared out on the floor.
When you watch Golden State run their motion attack, you expect decisive cuts and bold finishes. Yet against San Antonio, every drive ground to a halt as players searched for bail-out passes or threw up prayer shots.
Victor Wembanyama dominates in just 21 minutes
The most staggering detail of the blowout is how little time the superstar needed to dismantle Golden State. Victor Wembanyama logged only 21 minutes, but he controlled every possession while he stood on the hardwood.
The French center filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, two blocks, and one steal. He made 5 of his 11 attempts from the field, creating easy scoring lanes for teammates while shutting down everything in his vicinity.
San Antonio did not even need heavy fourth-quarter minutes from their cornerstone. They built a massive cushion early, watching Golden State misfire over and over until the contest turned into an uncontested runaway.
For Golden State, the lack of Curry’s gravity created absolute chaos. Without Curry drawing two defenders 30 feet from the hoop, the Spurs packed the lane and dared Golden State’s supporting cast to score over length.
Lendeborg shoulders the blame for a 1-of-13 disaster
Lendeborg took full responsibility for his nightmare outing. He grabbed seven rebounds and dished out one assist, but his 7.7% shooting mark weighed heavily on his mind after the game.
“I don’t have nothing to learn, bro; we got the s–t beat outta us,” Lendeborg said when asked about takeaways. He described feeling flustered from start to finish, unable to finish even routine layups.
Teammates told him to forget the blowout and move forward, pointing out that over 70 games remain on the schedule. But Lendeborg rejected that advice, saying he felt mentally wounded by the margin of defeat.
He confessed that he could not remember the last time he played an entire game feeling completely helpless on the court. He felt he let his entire locker room down, vowing that he would not easily erase the embarrassment.
The road ahead for Golden State
Golden State now must reset quickly after suffering one of their worst defeats of the early campaign. They cannot afford to dwell on their offensive paralysis with Curry still sidelined.
The Warriors travel to New Orleans to face the Pelicans on Monday night, November 16, where they will try to steady their season and regain their offensive poise.
Source: Yahoo Sports
