{"id":574386,"date":"2026-02-01T04:46:20","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T04:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/574386\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T04:46:20","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T04:46:20","slug":"mitch-johnson-gets-real-on-victor-wembanyamas-shot-selection-vs-hornets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/574386\/","title":{"rendered":"Mitch Johnson gets real on Victor Wembanyama’s shot selection vs. Hornets"},"content":{"rendered":"

There’s no question the San Antonio Spurs<\/a> want the ball in Victor Wembanyama<\/a>‘s hands at the end of games. The question then lies in what the third-year center does with it. Following a 111-106 loss against the Charlotte Hornets<\/a> in which Wemby took and missed a 3-pointer early in the shot clock with :27 left in the game, Mitch Johnson answered whether that was the shot he wanted in that situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn’t get a good enough look at it to probably give an advanced or a super deep explanation or thought on that,\u201d Johndson said. \u201cBut, that was one of the options on the play; him coming off the screen, whether he wanted to take the three or curl it and try to get something at the rim.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a couple of options on the play\u2026
that was one\u2026; him coming off the screen, whether he wanted to take the three or curl in, try to get something at the rim\u201d<\/p>\n

-M Johnson on Wemby 3-pt attempt w\/plenty on shot clock & :27 left in a game #Spurs<\/a> trailed by 3
Full answer\u2b07\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/yAV0k0ZDXJ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Hector Ledesma (@HectorLedesmaTV) January 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The Spurs didn’t get a great performance from their generational star. Wembanyama scored 16 points<\/a>, didn’t record a block, registered an assist and tallied eight boards on an afternoon in which his team was out-rebounded by 15.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was disappointing for sure,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI think, Charlotte’s playing really well, but we won three out of the four quarters, so that means there were some things that we were doing well as well. We just need to do it for more than 48.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spurs fall to sub-500 against the Hornets<\/p>\n

The win moved the Hornets to 22-28 for the season. They’re on the outside looking in of the Eastern play-in picture, sitting 11th in the conference. Asked what went wrong during a second quarter that saw his team outscored 35-17, Johnson didn’t hesitate.<\/p>\n

\u201cA little bit of everything\u201d Johnson said of Brandon Miller, who put up a game-high 26 points.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought our discipline of how we wanted to guard multiple actions was not up to standard. We fell asleep a couple times in terms of not staying connected to him, got lost in transition.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Spurs first-year head coach<\/a> then reiterated a reality that plagued his now 32-16 squad.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe offense took some tough shots; turnovers,\u201d Johnson noted. \u201cYou win three quarters out of four and still lose the game, that means you had a quarter that obviously had multiple things not going well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mitch Johnson says the Spurs’ early start time didn’t matter<\/p>\n

Though San Antonio hadn’t been playing their best ball since a big victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Christmas Day, the loss dropped them below second place in the Western Conference<\/a> for the first time since December.<\/p>\n

This latest loss took a unique turn before it started as both the Spurs and Hornets took the court three hours earlier that originally scheduled. Because of severe weather expected through Charlotte and the region, the game started at noon, or 11 am by San Antonio standards. It’s the first game the Spurs have played this season that started before noon Central Standard Time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t think it had much effect to do with the game,\u201d Johnson said afterward.<\/p>\n

Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News reports the Spurs, who are scheduled to host the Orlando Magic the next day, are being forced to spend the night in Charlotte<\/a>, unable to return to the Alamo City because of snow storms.<\/p>\n