Chandler & Lou on Victor Wembanyama Injury, Calf Strains, & Spurs SURVIVE with De’Aaron Fox?

Chandler & Lou on Victor Wembanyama Injury, Calf Strains, & Spurs SURVIVE with De’Aaron Fox?

Um, we actually are starting today’s show with a topic that I’m not excited to talk about, but we will. Thanks a lot, Shams, yesterday for ruining everybody’s day with the tweet about Victor Wmanyama, who uh will be sidelined with a left calf strength. I feel like we’ve been saying that those words a lot. Uh they’re going to be updates as appropriate, sat out against the Kings on Sunday. He played 38 minutes against the Warriors on Friday. Um Mitch Johnson said that the tightness thing is not something obviously that you want to take lightly. We’ve seen it too many times. um and what has happened around the league. Okay, the calf injury part. Let’s just start there because even on our thread, we’re like, what what is going on with the calf injuries? Well, especially if it was the play that Pods kind of took his legs out there. Not intentional there, but this is obvious this is something that you’re going to worry about consistently when you’re talking about Victor Wimyama and his health and just kind of longevity of his career. We’ve never seen anybody with this kind of size and length and the way he moves. So, we don’t really know how to handle it, right? And I just know this is not going to be something they’re going to rush back. And uh you guys are nuts. Michelle, seriously literally drinking my water. Um but this is it’s scary, right? This is the worst thing that could possibly happen for them. He is their all all world everything. He is the anchor of that defense. Thank goodness they have some depth. They have, you know, a lot of great guards that can kind of collectively get the job done while he’s out. They have bigs like Cornet, Beyond. I can see them going a little small ball lineups with with Harrison Barnes and Sohan and Kell Johnson playing kind of that four or five. But it’s going to be a huge blow to them just because of what he obviously gives them on the defensive end, offensively, everything. But you just hate to see it. They’re off to such a good start. It’s been nothing but positive energy and buzz around this franchise. And now you kind of have him down for a couple weeks at minimum. It’s just a tough blow for them early in the season when when they’re kind of on the rise. Yeah. and and collectively around the league. I don’t know what to make of all of these calf strains, right? You know, this is a particularly new thing that we’re starting to hear um in the NBA. Usually, it’s knees and ankles and and things of that nature, and now we’re starting to hear the the term um overuse um when it comes to these cal strength. So, I I don’t know really what to make of it. You know, we we’ve seen how catastrophic it can be for a guy’s career um when that leads to the Achilles and all of those other things, the kinetic things that’s connected um to that. So hopefully this is something that is only a a multiple week issue uh for Wimby and the rest of the guys that are dealing with this um throughout the league. But yeah, this is this is interesting. It’s starting to become a thing. What do you guys do like when you’re playing like what cuz remember like Jordan had those all the sleeves and everything else was going. What what modern day is happening? That’s what I mean. It’s like this can’t be like a load management thing, right? It’s 14 games in the in the season. I think a lot of miss a lot of time with the blood clots. That’s what I mean. A lot of this stuff is inevitable, right? it’s going to happen. Especially with a guy like him who again, I don’t think trainers are prepared. They don’t they don’t know what to expect. It’s like a Zion. When you have that kind of explosiveness, that kind of athleticism and a human body, it’s hard to keep on the floor. Same thing with him. I think there’s always going to be kind of ups and downs with his health and and like Lud just said, you don’t really want to rush this back because, you know, knock on wood, this turns into something more severe like an Achilles, something like that. Now, we’re talking he’s out for the season. So, this is something I think they’ll have to be extremely patient with. This is why they go and get a Luke Cornette. This is why they go and sign, you know, some of those other bodies like a Biombo because you got to factor that this guy is going to miss some time, which is just part of the game. But this like that play, you can’t predict that. You got You know what else? You also this this can be a legitimate injury, but you also know sometimes you may get you might have something that you’re dealing with and the team will say, “We’re going to shut you down until we figure out what’s going on and we’re going to put it out there.” Um that it’s a calf strain or some of these things. But it it can be more serious sometimes than reported and sometimes it could also um be a little less strenuous as well as reported. So like I said, hopefully this is something that he can get over in two to three weeks where he can get back into the swing of things. And some of these other guys like these names are big. Yeah. And he’s a growing man. Like we we talked about him growing two inches over over the course of over the course of a summer. Like that’s a that’s a lot especially for somebody who’s already 74 75. And so there’s going to be some bumps and some bruises along the way. I can only imagine what his body is going through, you know, when you’re adjusting, when you’re dealing with with growing pains at such a young age and at such a tall height. Like it’s it’s it’s a lot. Did you guys have calf strains? No. I mean, you guys went straight to my knees honestly. But like when like look at the names that have had recent C ad Jaw, Drew Holiday, Luca. It’s like there’s no similarities. Like some of these guys are grounded, some of these guys are high flyers, you got guards, you got big. So I I don’t I don’t see anything where I can really tie this into to something. I would like more information. We’re talking about all the stuff MJ and stuff used to do. We have so much more advanced medical stuff now where where they’re they’re doing the cryo chambers. They’re doing the cold plunge. They’re getting massaging. Maybe you just need a good old dry needling. Yeah. Go back to the Don Go back to the Donjoy braces. Maybe we’re too technical. That’s what I’m saying. Maybe we’ve allowed too much medical people into the locker rooms where everybody’s the smartest person in the room. We need to do this, we need to do that. Like, roll up the pre- rap on the patella. Yeah. Maybe we get back to the basics and stop all these new machines and all trying all of these new little gigs and gadgets and all of that. Let’s get Let’s get back to the oldfashioned tape ankles. High tops. High tops. Do kids even tape anymore? We’re ankle braces now. No tape. No tape. Like I remember when I played there was a there was a time slot for a rookie to basically vet and you had to go. That’s not a thing anymore at all. I don’t know. You’re right. Last year I didn’t get tape. I didn’t know what to do. I also didn’t blet. There’s something to this. I was I was an ankle brace guy. Yeah. I think there’s something to this. Um we do have like a a little list of Wimi injuries so far in his career. Um Oh, no. That’s the schedule. Oh, we want to figure out if they’re going to be all right. Like they’re four and four without them, I believe. I’ll tell you this, this is a favorable schedule. I think it’s going to be ups and downs here, but then there’s going to be a huge hold defensively with him out and they’re going to have to have these guards kind of carry the load offensively. But that schedule for the most part, it’s it’s not too Grizzlies, Hawks, Suns, Blazers, like Grizzlies again like play hard. Suns play hard. Again, there’s not really an easy night. A couple teams in the East, but still you could there’s no just no team just going to lay down. So, I think this is a little bit favorable, but this is when they got to get other production from those other guys. This is where Vel needs to be. This is when Kell Johnson’s going to be great. And this is also a great opportunity for Fox to get his legs back. Dylan Harper’s going to come back in the lineup soon. So Han’s back now. Champen is going to like these guys are just going to get more opportunity collectively with Wimi out just because he’s such a big hole with him not on the floor. And that’s why we spoke about talent is at a premium. You need as much talent as you can in this league for scenarios like this when one of your best players are going to go out. You know, your best player gives you a great opportunity to win, but that’s why you put other guys around them. That’s why you have so many different role players. That’s why you bring in a dear Fox, somebody who’s been a 1A before that knows what it takes to get you over there. And then especially with the San Antonio Spurs as an organization, they are a plugandplay organization. They have a style of play. They have a culture that they’ve they’ve created, a style that they like to go by. So, I feel like they can get they can get through this uh just fine with Wimby being out of being out of the lineup. But again, that’s why it’s so important to have as much talent as you can just in case the big dog goes down, you can still keep that ship steady. And a couple weeks ago, we’re thinking, what are they going to do with Dear Fox? Like, and now it’s like, well, now they’re going to go like three guards. Now they’re going to go four guards in like a big. So, like now he’s even more valuable and it’s even more of a luxury that they have him and they’re so deep at that position because now with Wimi out, they’re they could be such a versatile lineup. We’re going to see them go really really small. I guarantee it with like a Sohan or Harrison Barnes at five, Helen Johnson at four, like and then then let those three guards just get out in transition and play fast. It’s going to be a different version of the Spurs than we’re used to with Wimi on the floor. They’re fifth in the West right now. How do we feel about this? Couple week they stay couple week two, three week I think they maintain, especially with how unpredictable the West is right now anyways. And this is not the only team that’s dealing with injuries. A lot of teams are starting to deal with some two or three week guys being out. That’s going to change the trajectory of their seasons as well. And so because of San Antonio and how they play defense, how they attacked on the defensive end, you know, they had their rim protection with Wimby, but those guards, they were in those passing lanes and they were putting pressure on the ball and doing everything that they needed to do to make them competitive on the defensive end. So I think I think they steady the ship and I think they’ll be all right with the schedule. And when we didn’t really look at the history of his injury, but it’s nothing really glare like hip tightness and right ankle and sore back besides the blood clot thing, which obviously that can be extremely dangerous. This is all normal bumps and bruises that you get throughout a normal NBA season. So, this isn’t something like a Zion or Joel Embiid or a Paul George like graphic injuries that we’re thinking that he’s had to deal with. So, I think this is all maintenance thing. This is all stuff that’s going to happen throughout his career. It’s just a little scarier when you are the franchise face of the league growing up into this just monster right before our eyes and you’re 7 foot six like it’s a little bit hold your breath when every time he goes down. So, that’s the only scary part. That’s how you spell soaz. P S O A S. That’s Did I learn that today? So Oh, that’s I didn’t know that. I’ve heard that word a lot. So Okay, we’re done. You’re done. You’re on time out. I could help it. I’m sorry. That was actually good. Um John Morant, another player also happens to be the Grizzlies playing this

On November 18, 2025 episode of ‘Run It Back’ on FanDuel TV, co-hosts Michelle Beadle, Chandler Parsons, and Lou Williams react to the news that Victor Wembanyama will miss some time with an injury & how the San Antonio Spurs will do without Wemby. Also they explore an Atlanta Hawks Trae Young for Memphis Grizzlies Ja Morant trade and who says no?

FULL EPISODE HERE:https://youtube.com/live/O-SyDmnZhI8

0:00 VICTOR WEMBANYAMA OUT MULTIPLE WEEKS WITH SPURS
4:17 CALF STRAINS
10:40 SPURS SCHEDULE

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