Spurs lose Victor Wembanyama — and control — as Blazers even series

SAN ANTONIO — “Whatever we do, we’re going to do it together!” » -Keldon Johnson

Minutes before the start of Game 2 against the Trail Blazers, the entire Spurs team and coaching staff gathered near half court, with a backdrop of adoring fans, cheering and congratulating Victor Wembanyama on his first-ever unanimous Defensive Player of the Year award.

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About 30 minutes later, when a little more than a quarter of the basketball game had been played, that same group formed, but this time out of confusion, worry, and anxiety. Moments earlier, Wembanyama, in an attempt to drive toward the basket while being defended by Blazers guard Jrue Holiday, got his feet tangled and hit the ground — at such a high speed that his face planted directly into the ground before bouncing briefly across the surface.

For a moment, Wembanyama lay motionless on the ground before leaning against the post to try to compose himself. In a way, the Spurs’ hopes and dreams were there with him. He will then be followed to the locker room after leaving under his own power before being officially ruled out with a concussion and entering the protocol. Per NBA rules, there is a mandatory 48-hour recovery period from the onset of a concussion before a player can be evaluated by a team doctor or athletic trainer for a return to action.

In that moment, San Antonio’s unspoken horrors manifested themselves: Portland’s worst-case physicality, a game plan requiring a major sound and uncharted playoff territory without Wembanyama.

“Give a lot of credit to Portland, the staff, the game plan and their players,” Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said after San Antonio’s 106-103 loss. “There was a certain level of fatigue that showed up, in terms of the intensity of the game and the amount of time the guys had to play. And it’s a playoff game. That’s what it’s going to be like.”

To Spurs’ credit, even without Wembanyama, there was an admirable effort on the defensive side of the pitch. San Antonio held Portland to just 76.1 points per 100 half-court possessions, one of the best defensive results of the regular season and playoffs. They also won the rebounding battle despite being small for much of the evening, won the transition battle and held the Blazers to just 34 percent from 3 and 43 percent from the overall field. “We didn’t give up 150 or anything like that,” Johnson added. “I thought the guys really fought and did a really good job.”

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The problem with the positives, however, is that a dark cloud often accompanies them. San Antonio, one of the best teams in 3-point rate, attempted just 24 shots from behind the arc – including just four corner 3s for the NBA’s most proficient corner shooting unit – converting only seven (!) of them. A Spurs team that finishes nearly 70 percent of shots at the rim has seen just 44 percent of them. In the fourth quarter, Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox combined to shoot a dismal 2 of 10 from the field, the majority of which came in a tightly contested final few minutes with the game delicately on the line. Devin Vassell finished with 16 points on 16 shots, missing all five of his 3-point attempts, including the final chance to force overtime.

Additionally, San Antonio committed the one cardinal sin in a playoff series against an underdog: giving them momentum, life and a chance. Portland, which has been a top-10 defense in the NBA since February 1, offered its explanation for why this series is anything but over. The Blazers, led by the defensive spunk of Holiday, Toumani Camara and Scoot Henderson, are a trio as pesky as any in the league, capable of using their abundance of physicality and lateral quickness to clutter the airspace of even the quickest opposing guards. Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III are about as crafty in a frontcourt duo as there are around the Association, not only because of their ability to guard the interior, but because of their growl, soft touch, and uncanny nature of their middle game. What once seemed like a breeze of a first-round series now has all the makings of a grueling and risky marathon.

As the entire city of San Antonio awaits Wembanyama’s immediate next steps, the Spurs coaching staff will reconvene to determine how to avoid completely letting go of the rope in what will surely be a deafening Moda Center for Game 3. Spurs are quite used to playing without Wembanyama, being outscored by just one point around 2,000 minutes this season. Their ability to stay tied with Portland in minutes off Wembanyama nearly got them over the finish line Tuesday night and will certainly be at the forefront of any Game 3 buildup.

“We played some tough games without him,” Castle said of the prospect of a third game without Wembanyama. “Obviously we want everyone to be healthy and on the field, but I’ll have the five guys we have on the field. We’re going to play like ourselves.”

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(Under this game plan, there are sure to be some tough decisions. San Antonio’s most-played lineup without Wemby in Game 2 — the regular starters plus Luke Kornet — were outscored by seven with a -46.7 net rating. Playing four guards alongside Kornet swung the pendulum to a +66.7 net rating through four minutes. There’s also the question of whether rookie Carter Bryant, who replaced the small-ball five, can hold up against so much pressure and physicality from the Clingan/Williams tandem on the road.)

However, some difficult questions remain. How did San Antonio’s elite defense allow Henderson — who played in just 30 games all year and scored more than 25 points twice — to command the show like that with a game-high 31 points? How can the Spurs replicate Wembanyama’s vertical spacing and gravity, the centripetal force of their inside-outside balance, spacing and efficiency? What happens when Wembanyama, who literally forced Portland to adjust its offensive – and defensive – thinking isn’t there to save the day? (San Antonio has allowed 117.4 points per 100 possessions without Wembanyama this season, which would rank among the bottom ten defenses in the NBA.)

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“It’s really the same game plan,” Castle said. “Most of their offense ends with guard-to-guard checks or one-on-one dribbles. So being able to contain the ball is always being able to help each other out. Obviously we can’t make up for what Vic is for us defensively, but you try to do it as a team. Stay for each other, communication and turnovers.”