SGA’s awkward Wemby answer about Isaiah Hartenstein’s defense confused everyone
This was an odd exchange.
Victor Wembanyama is seemingly an unsolvable problem for the NBA. Anyone who’s watched a single game Wemby plays realizes that there’s no good way to stop a player his size, with his skill, and his versatility on both ends of the court. The Thunder figured out how to handle him on Wednesday night: Just foul the ever-loving hell out of him, and hope that enough don’t get called that it alters the outcome.
This worked, with Isaiah Hartenstein playing the role of goon to perfection as Wembanyama was held to 21 points on 50 percent shooting from the field. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was asked about Hartenstein’s impact on the game, and he didn’t quite know how to respond. Zora Stephenson: You all made a pivot defensively, Hart on Wemby — what kind of impact did Isaiah have tonight?
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: Ummm… I’m not sure if it was good, to be honest. Yeah. Stephenson: Break that down for me.
Why was his impact not good? SGA: It was alright. It was good, it was good.