Spurs' frustrating Wembanyama strategy may cost them a championship

Despite just coming off his second All-Star appearance, San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is struggling post-All-Star break. In the seven games since the All-Star break, he's averaging just 17.9 points while also shooting 43.6% from the field.

Big deal, right? Stars occasionally struggle, and they always bounce back. That is definitely true, but Wembanyama's struggles are a sign of bigger problems within his game.

Wembanyama's shot simply isn't falling, with him connecting on fewer than 50% of his shots in five of his last seven games. Worse yet, he's drilling just 21.9% of his 4.6 3-point attempts per game over that span.

Spurs must be stubborn with the Wemby strategy to win in the playoffs

In theory, Wemby taking plenty of threes is fine. However, he currently can't hit the broad side of a barn from deep.

When he can't get points in the paint, which has been the case of late, he's fine settling for those shots. Simply put, Wembanyama isn't a wing and shouldn't default to taking threes.

Even when he puts the ball on the floor on the perimeter, the results have often been awful. Wembanyama has excellent handles for his size and can cook opposing centers.

That's all well and good, but he can't dribble around guards and wings, and when he does, it's a safe bet he's going to cough up the ball. It's concerning that he still attacks them off the dribble, and this doesn't bode well come playoff time. Especially with most teams having their small forwards guard him.

Spurs' frustrating Wembanyama strategy may cost them

Wembanyama is at his best when he is a wrecking ball in the paint. He excels when he attacks closeouts from scrambling big men, drills mid-range jumpers, scores in the post, finishes alley-oops, or gets to the free-throw line.

That has been missing from his game lately, but teams have also been getting more physical. He hasn't responded well to that physicality either, which is concerning because it's not like that will go away in the playoffs.

Wembanyama has previously shown that he was tough enough when he got knocked around by the Houston Rockets. Unfortunately, he hasn't responded the same way recently.

Focusing more on an inside-out approach, where he prioritizes shots in the paint and selectively takes threes, is when he is at his best. It's taken a while for him and the Spurs to figure that out, and he has to get back to that approach.

If the Silver and Black hope to have a deep playoff run, they'll have to get Wembanyama back on track to avoid a playoff upset.