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The San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder look to take a series advantage after splitting the first two games of the Western Conference Finals.
So far, with the series tied 1-1, the Thunder have played a physical brand of basketball against the Spurs. Fans have even seen Oklahoma City big man Isaiah Hartenstein pull the hair of Spurs guard Stephon Castle. As they play more intensely, the incredibly valuable San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama needs some protection so he doesn't get thrown around.
During postgame, Inside the NBA co-host Charles Barkley discussed what he noticed about the physicality on the court.
"You people at home and on TV talking about, they were physical with Wemby, man, ya'll need to stop that. I've been kissed harder."
Barkley said it "wasn't overly aggressive" and that there were no excessive fouls by the Thunder.
Spurs forward Julian Champagnie spoke about the topic, taking the opposite approach, before the teams faced off in Game 3.
"I don't think they're going to stop doing what they're doing. They're good at what they do," Champagnie said. "If anything, as the playoffs go on, you get away with more. We have to understand as a team this is the playoffs and realize we're allowed to do more. They won't shy away. We won't shy away."
According to Champagnie, the Spurs need to "hit back" when they play against Oklahoma City in San Antonio.
“The guys hit him, they pull him, they grab his jersey, they’re grabbing his arm when he’s jumping. Obviously, that’s not basketball," Champagnie added, via Tom Osborn. "That's just a physicality thing. That’s up to the refs to deal with, not us. But I think as a team, how we can help him is we hit them back.”
Champagnie feels the Spurs need to match the level of physicality that Wembanyama has seen so far in the series.
He said that the Thunder will inevitability play that way, so if they set the tone and meet them there, it will feel more balanced.
So if the third game of the series looking a bit more aggressive, we know exactly why the teams are approaching it that way.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Spurs-Thunder: How Victor Wembanyama will get more physical protection
Continue reading...
So far, with the series tied 1-1, the Thunder have played a physical brand of basketball against the Spurs. Fans have even seen Oklahoma City big man Isaiah Hartenstein pull the hair of Spurs guard Stephon Castle. As they play more intensely, the incredibly valuable San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama needs some protection so he doesn't get thrown around.
During postgame, Inside the NBA co-host Charles Barkley discussed what he noticed about the physicality on the court.
"You people at home and on TV talking about, they were physical with Wemby, man, ya'll need to stop that. I've been kissed harder."
Barkley said it "wasn't overly aggressive" and that there were no excessive fouls by the Thunder.
Spurs forward Julian Champagnie spoke about the topic, taking the opposite approach, before the teams faced off in Game 3.
"I don't think they're going to stop doing what they're doing. They're good at what they do," Champagnie said. "If anything, as the playoffs go on, you get away with more. We have to understand as a team this is the playoffs and realize we're allowed to do more. They won't shy away. We won't shy away."
According to Champagnie, the Spurs need to "hit back" when they play against Oklahoma City in San Antonio.
“The guys hit him, they pull him, they grab his jersey, they’re grabbing his arm when he’s jumping. Obviously, that’s not basketball," Champagnie added, via Tom Osborn. "That's just a physicality thing. That’s up to the refs to deal with, not us. But I think as a team, how we can help him is we hit them back.”
Champagnie feels the Spurs need to match the level of physicality that Wembanyama has seen so far in the series.
He said that the Thunder will inevitability play that way, so if they set the tone and meet them there, it will feel more balanced.
So if the third game of the series looking a bit more aggressive, we know exactly why the teams are approaching it that way.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Spurs-Thunder: How Victor Wembanyama will get more physical protection
Continue reading...
