The Portland Trail Blazers went into halftime with a 17-point lead over the San Antonio Spurs, then completely collapsed in the second half. They simply couldn’t figure out a solution to the constant shot-making of De’Aaron Fox (28 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists), and the stardom of Victor Wembanyama (27 points, 11 rebounds, 7 blocks, 4 steals, 3 assists).
The Spurs, who are now up 3-1 in the series, won 114-93 as they simply demolished the Blazers in the second half, outscoring them by 38 points.
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San Antonio is now one win away from moving on to the second round, and will look to close out the series on Tuesday back in Texas.
This is the best first-round challenge for Victor Wembanyama
Concussion protocol and missed games aside, this is just the perfect test for Wembanyama.
The Blazers have nimble guards, big combo forwards, and a 7-foot-2, beefy center in Donovan Clingan — and they’re throwing everything and everyone at Wembanyama. The 7-5 Defensive Player of the Year has been guarded by everyone from Clingan to Jrue Holiday, as the Blazers keep switching up their coverage, forcing him to adjust and get used to a physical presence, regardless of who is tasked with guarding him.
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It’s a smart strategy, as it forces the Spurs superstar to constantly make decisions, with his defender in mind.
The potential downside for Portland? That Wembanyama solves it and takes away the advantage.
The enigma of Scoot Henderson
Coming into Game 4, Henderson was averaging 23.3 points per game in the series.
He was scoreless in Game 4, missing all seven of his shots, which speaks to a lack of consistency from Henderson, and the fortuitousness of Portland’s depth.
The 6-3 guard scored in a variety of ways over his first three games, canning 3-pointers, getting to the rim, and connecting on floaters. For the Blazers to suddenly lose that scoring aspect is tough to overcome, as it makes their game plan all the more unpredictable and reliant on others.
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If the Blazers move on from this round, it’s fairly crucial that Henderson settles into a role that doesn’t offer this level of variance.
Two-way wing play
This is an area that stands in sharp contrast for these two teams. The Spurs don’t have oodles of positional size on the wing, nor do they have a forward who is routinely one of the better 3-and-D performers in the league.
The Blazers have an elite 3-and-D wing in Toumani Camara, an All-Star wing in Deni Avdija, and a 6-9 jumbo forward in Jerami Grant. This offers them size, production, and diversity.
While the Spurs have Keldon Johnson, Carter Bryant, and Harrison Barnes, all three are on the smaller side and are either untested, a little on the older side, or not necessarily a two-way force.
If anything, this series should give the Spurs a clear vision of where they need to upgrade in the coming summer, if they wish to optimize their long-term championship window.
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