NBA – A Spurs player better without Wembanyama, the coach admits: “We have guys who…

While Victor Wembanyama’s end of season is a big blow for San Antonio, some players took advantage of it to show a much better face in his absence.

Coach Mitch Johnson also made a fairly honest clarification on this subject.

In an instant, all the Spurs’ hopes for this season flew away.

During the first months of the campaign, Victor Wembanyama and his ilk had proven that they could get involved in the playoff race and despite a disastrous start to 2025, there was still hope of getting back on track during the final sprint.

Until the Frenchman was declared out for the rest of the season…

Obviously, the franchise’s objectives are now very different.

No point in fighting for a post-season spot, fans are instead calling for a high draft pick in the hopes of landing the prodigy Cooper Flagg.

But until then, there are still games to play and despite the possibility of an assumed tanking, Mitch Johnson’s men are showing themselves to be rather combative with four wins in the last ten games.

Mitch Johnson honest about Keldon Johnson’s progress

Last night, it was for example Devin Vassell who distinguished himself with his career-high in scoring (37 points) to win against the Nets.

A game during which Keldon Johnson also distinguished himself coming off the bench with 15 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists.

In fact, it is the guard who benefits the most from the sidelining of Victor Wembanyama when we observe his performances following the All-Star Weekend.

In the two weeks following the All-Star Game, he shot nearly 19 points on 71% shooting, including 47% from long range, all as a backup.

It’s dropped off a bit since then, but it’s proof that he’s doing much better since his franchise player joined the infirmary. Coach Mitch Johnson had this to say about it:

We have a few guys who are adjusting to their role in the game, getting their confidence back in their favorite spots and where they can impact the game.

I think he’s one of those guys who…

Sometimes when you’re comfortable in your game and in your situation, it allows you to play better.

You trust your instincts, you don’t spend your time overthinking, you don’t try to make your plays spectacular.

We have guys who are in that situation right now, and it’s fun to watch him play.

This is all the more interesting for San Antonio since Johnson is likely to pack his bags, he who had seriously fallen into line in recent months.

A cannonball end to the season would therefore increase his stock with the competition, which would necessarily imply an even juicier counterpart.

Keldon Johnson has been present since Victor Wembanyama was stuck in the infirmary, which is doing a lot of good for the Spurs bench.

The latter are therefore surely hoping that he continues on this momentum, if only with a view to the 2025 offseason…