The Sacramento Kings' road trip isn't going much better than their recent home stand, though at least they aren't getting utterly annihilated. They lost to the Spurs 123 to 110. Sadly, that's an improvement. But if Victor Wembanyama had been playing, it likely would have been another blowout.
Walking into San Antonio these days is intimidating for any NBA team. The Spurs have a solid roster with good depth. Plus, that means facing off against their seven-foot, four-inch center who racks up blocks like most players score points. Webanyama ain't playing around.
There have been plenty of players well over seven feet in the NBA over the years, but they were mostly tall with only basic skills. Victor, on the other hand, is a full-service baller who is great on defense and offense, and is as dangerous from the three-point line as he is in the paint.
On top of that, the Spurs have Stephon Castle, who was drafted the year after Wembanyama and was also awarded Rookie of the Year. Known as Area 51, this duo has become the one-two punch at the core of everything San Antonio does. That's why opponents relish any time they aren't on the court.
The Kings got lucky
Not surprisingly, the Spurs do not take chances with Wembanyama's health. He missed a large chunk of last season due to deep vein thrombosis. As such, San Antonio chose to sit Victor against the Kings with what was reported as left calf tightness. Again, they take no chances with their star.
If that's not enough of an opening for the Kings, Stephon Castle left the game in the first half with a left hip injury and didn't return. That meant Area 51 was shut down. Unfortunately for Sacramento, the Spurs have a good roster led by their own former point guard, De'Aaron Fox.
The Kings ultimately lost the game by 13 points, which was a shock to no one. What's scary is how bad the beating would have been if both Wembanyama and Castle had been playing at full steam. There's a real chance that it would have been yet another complete and utter blowout.
No one in the league really has an answer for Wembanyama. That goes double for Sacramento, which has no defensive presence to speak of. It sounds weird to say this, but losing this game by such a relatively small margin was honestly a best case scenario for the beleaguered Kings.