What Career-First Did Sochan Experience?

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jonah Kubicek | Last updated Dec 6, 2024 12:29 PM ET

The San Antonio Spurs lost to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night, falling 139-124. The Spurs were without Victor Wembanyama, which helped result in Nikola Vucevic's 39-point outing. With Zach Collins expected to replace Wembanyama in the starting lineup, acting head coach Mitch Johnson went in a different direction, starting Jeremy Sochan in the center spot.

Sochan dropped 16 points and 14 rebounds and missed both of his 3-point shots. However, he did go 7-12 inside the arc, so his ability to get to the rim, even without Wembanyama's gravity, did not go unnoticed.

Sochan is just two games returned from a fractured thumb and got his first start since going down in early November. He played more minutes than anyone on the team and admitted that it took a toll.

"It's unfortunate not having our big guy, but I'm going to be ready for anything," said Sochan after the game. "Control what I can control...there's moments where I got a little gassed, but I'm getting there. I played 35 minutes, so it's been good. I'm feeling good."

The Spurs will host the Kings on Sunday night, and there is an expectation that Wembanyama will play in the second half of the back-to-back, although that remains to be seen for sure. The nature of Sochan's thumb injury allowed him to continue doing cardio and working out throughout his recovery, so his stamina shouldn't be too far removed from his usual condition, but playing 30 or more minutes two nights in a row is tough, regardless of injury status.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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