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Victor Wembanyama continues to put up numbers and the Spurs continue to lose games. That's not exactly Wembanyama's fault — he's clearly a positive-impact player most nights — but the ecosystem in San Antonio has not exactly favored Wembanyama. The Spurs aren't playing to his strengths and he's frequently involved in ill-fitted lineups, such as the Spurs' inexplicable starting five.

Jeremy Sochan has started all 19 games for the 3-16 Spurs. It's clear Sochan can play, but he's not a point guard. The Spurs have committed full-stop to Sochan as the lead ball-handler, which has led to a complete stagnation of their halfcourt offense. He's an excellent complementary player with a versatile skill set, but jamming a round peg into a square hole has turned Sochan into a sloppy decision-maker and anti-spacer who often wrecks the Spurs' execution.

For Wembanyama, he can only control what he can control. The Spurs rely on the No. 1 pick for a ton of bail-out shots all over the floor, which is why his percentages are so low. The jumper has been a mixed bag. It looks beautiful out of his hand, but Wemby's splits indicate a definite inconsistency outside the painted area (he's shooting sub-40 percent on all shot attempts more than five feet from the rim and 27.3 percent from deep). That has to improve. He would probably benefit from a more streamlined and structured role. The Spurs need to let Wemby be Wemby, but the questionable quality of his teammates and scheme has proven a definite barrier to unfettered success.

Of course, no matter how the offense develops, Wembanyama will be an elite defender for the next decade. He's averaging 1.3 steals and 2.7 blocks, putting his comical 8-foot wingspan to excellent use. The Spurs' defense continues to bleed points on the whole, but Wemby has more than carried his weight as the anchor. It's just hard to anchor a boat with holes in the stern.