The Denver Nuggets have already cracked the code on Victor Wembanyama, and the New York Knicks just sent them a reminder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The Nuggets have a Wemby stopper in Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic has Wemby's number on offense.
The Knicks took Game 1 of the NBA Finals from the San Antonio Spurs 105-95, and they virtually shut down Victor Wembanyama in the process. Yes, Wemby did have 26 points, but 12 of those came from the free-throw line. Overall, he was just 6-for-21 from the floor, and the physical defense Karl-Anthony Towns deployed against Wembanyama was reminiscent of what Aaron Gordon did against the Alien when they squared off in Denver in early April.
Towns held Wembanyama to 2-for-12 shooting as the primary defender by using his body against him and using a lower center of gravity. Wemby couldn't get around Towns and was forced to take off-balance or very contested shots. The Knicks may have even gotten the idea from watching Nuggets game film.
Gordon shuts Wemby down when he guards him
Aaron Gordon was the kryptonite for Wembanyama when the Nuggets faced off on April 4th at Ball Arena. The Nuggets' starting five was finally healthy, and Gordon went to work guarding Wemby over the clutch and held Wemby to 1-4 shooting over the final 10 minutes of the overtime thriller.
Gordon's defensive dominance against Wembanyama wasn't just in the clutch. Wemby could only score score 12 points on 44 possessions with Gordon as his primary defender in the game. Gordon took Wemby out of the offense with the physical, low center of gravity, and Wemby couldn't create space to get by or get a decent shot off.
Jokic has the offensive answer to Wemby
The Defensive Player of the Year and best defender in the world has no answer for three-time MVP Jokic. Jokic and Wembanyama have squared off seven times, and Jokic's averaging 37.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 9.1 assists while shooting 55% from the floor. Those numbers across the season would give Jokic his fourth MVP in a landslide.
And to top it off, Jokic's even been able to display his high-basketball IQ against Wembanyama, hitting the "Sombor Shuffle" over Wemby in the closing moments of the game.
As bad as things appeared against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the NBA is all about matchups. The Wolves were built to beat the Nuggets by the Nuggets' former architect, Tim Connelly. They just have the Nuggets' number. But the Nuggets have Wemby's number, and they can keep that in their back pocket next year.
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