SAN ANTONIO — Gregg Popovich didn't run many plays for Victor Wembanyama in his regular-season debut, but one set in the fourth quarter harkened back to great Spurs big men of yesteryear.
Known in some playbooks as "Milwaukee," it was a staple for creating mismatches and deep post position for Tim Duncan and LaMarcus Aldridge. It's simple and effective, but Wembanyama's unique combination of size and athleticism unlocks a terrifying wrinkle that his teammates should be able to capitalize on soon.
The play starts with Wembanyama setting a ball screen up top and then rolling to the basket hard down the right side of the lane as the point guard dribbles to his left around a second screen. As Wemby rolls, multiple guards set sneaky cross screens to free him from his defender as he moves under the basket to the left block.
If it works well, the point guard dumps it down to the big man who can attack with a mismatch. Even if the initial defender stays attached, it's a smart way to initiate post possessions. Grant Williams did a good job to stay in the play, but Wemby faced up and drilled a jumper in his eyehole.
Pop has used cross screens countless times to help his best big men get set up down low, and as he and the young Spurs figure out how to maximize Wemby you can bet we'll see more of this concept.
But there's more to Milwaukee than that. In fact, there's a nifty little shortcut where if the whole team times it perfectly and catches the defense off-guard, you can just skip the post moves and go right to the big man dunking the ball through the hoop.
Wembanyama is the perfect weapon to attack that opportunity.
The critical moment comes as Wemby begins his roll toward the basket and approaches the first guard screening for him. If that screen creates adequate separation, there's a lane for the big man to leap for an alley-oop attempt. It goes without saying, but Wembanyama's height, catch radius and bounce make him a uniquely devastating lob target.
The point guard has to have the guts to throw the pass and the ability to nail the timing. Derrick White proved to be quite adept at taking the top off the defense on this play, putting it on a platter for Aldridge and Jakob Poeltl a number of times.
Who on this current Spurs roster is throwing that pass? Tre Jones has tried it before, though not yet with Wemby. What about Jeremy Sochan, the 6-foot-9 20-year-old who is (at least nominally) the starting point guard for Pop? He had his ups and downs in the opener, but on one play he threw a perfect pass from the exact place he'll need to be to make the Milwaukee lob.
Sochan's playmaking is still a work in progress, but Popovich is willing to explore it because of his handle, size, and feel for the game. That extra height and length at his position will allow him to see over the defense, making things like lobs and post-entry passes easier to execute.
The chemistry will take time to develop, and as it does will see Sochan and everyone else on this team get a better feel for how to get the ball to the tremendous rookie in threatening positions.
One day, maybe one day soon, we'll see it. We'll see Wemby set the screen and roll past Keldon Johnson, who catches the opposing defender napping and crushes him with a screen as Sochan tosses a pass that would be out of reach for almost every NBA player in history. We'll rise to our feet and point like that Leo DiCaprio meme as Wembanyama rises toward the rafters, or his planet of origin, and we'll know that he's following in the exact pathway of Spurs legends before him.
