Wemby’s chance to embarrass Kevin Durant just arrived right on schedule

Coming off two straight games of raining shots from outside, amounting to a total of 11 threes, Victor Wembanyama went from blistering from the perimeter to freezing cold against the Houston Rockets. After his 0/7 outing from deep, Kevin Durant told reporters that shooting jumpers isn't really Wemby's game, and with Houston back on the schedule tonight, Vic can shut KD up.

Look, I'm not delusional. I know that Wemby is a menace in the paint, and I know that he's still working on his jump shot, so those parts of the statement are fine. But those aren't the only comments Durant made here, and words have meaning. Saying layups and dunks are "more of his game than shooting jump shots" is an unnecessary barb he didn't need to make. And it's blatantly false.

Wembanyama is already one of the best shooting big men ever

Heading into that game, Vic was shooting 40% from three on the season. At the time, it was a higher percentage than Kawhi Leonard, Steph Curry, Michael Porter Jr., and even Kevin Durant himself were shooting at the time.

The Alien hasn't been great from a distance in his last two games, and so his average has dropped to 38%. That's still above league average and better than many of the top players. What's crazy is that when I made comments about this on social media, I was attacked by Durant fans who swear that everything he says is golden.

I was bombarded by comments like, "It's Kevin Durant, so he would know," as if he's basketball Jesus or something. Great players of the past turned broadcasters, and TV guests prove time and time again that being awesome at performing the craft doesn't mean you're the grand wizard of knowledge on the entire sport. It just doesn't work that way.

Wemby isn't some average NBA center

Too many people want a guy nicknamed the "Alien" to play like Kevin McHale (no disrespect to the legend). That's not his game. There's never been a player like Wemby before, so there is no one-to-one comparison you can give him to model his game after.

Funny enough, the closest thing we have to a similar player is Durantula, making it even more ridiculous to hear him say Vic shooting jumpers isn't his game. KD is nearly seven feet tall. I never heard anyone tell him that he should play in the paint more.

That statement also ignores the fact that Wembanyama is still not as strong as he needs to be to play that style, so defenses are specifically trying to keep him out with schemes and extra physicality. Durant's own team was doubling and triple-teaming Vic when he tried to get into the paint in the second half of their last encounter. So, getting to the lane isn't always an option.

It's okay, though. The Spurs get another shot at the Rockets tonight, and this time, they won't be on the second night of a back-to-back. That probably also had something to do with the French phenom's offshooting, but we'll see when the ball tips off a little past 8:30.