Victor Wembanyama’s status uncertain as Spurs face off against Trail Blazers in NBA play-offs Game 3
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Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs holds his head after falling to the court against the Portland Trail Blazers in the first half of Game 2.
PHOTO: AFP
PORTLAND – Victor Wembanyama’s availability is at the forefront of discussion, as his San Antonio Spurs travel to Portland to play the Trail Blazers in Game 3 of their National Basketball Association (NBA) Western Conference first-round play-off series on April 24 (April 25 morning, Singapore time).
The star centre’s concussion, suffered in the second quarter of Game 2 on April 21, is one factor affecting the Spurs’ chances in the play-offs.
The series is tied at 1-1 after the visiting Portland won 106-103 in Game 2.
Since then, San Antonio reserve forward Keldon Johnson was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year, with the award announcement coming two days after Wembanyama won Defensive Player of the Year.
With Wembanyama, 22, likely to be out for Game 3 because of the NBA’s concussion protocol, the other Spurs will be expected to pick up some of the slack, both in scoring and intensity.
“We know everybody is going to have to step up,” Spurs forward Devin Vassell said. “That’s a huge void to fill. We can’t get bogged down by it.”
But Johnson has struggled over the first two games of the series, totalling only 10 points on four-of-11 shooting while averaging 19 minutes of court time.
“It’s the play-offs – even if we didn’t play a lot without (Wembanyama in the regular season), we got to figure it out,” he said. “We have to just stick to what we do. Honestly, we fall back on our habits.”
Wembanyama, while in concussion protocol, travelled with the team to Portland after going through workouts with no ill effects on April 23.
“He’s looking good,” San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson said. “The update is that he is following each protocol and he is progressing and will travel with the team.”
Lost in all of the speculation on Wembanyama is the dynamic play of the Trail Blazers in the series.
At the forefront of Portland’s charge has been the production of forward Deni Avdija (team-high 30 points in Game 1) and guard Scoot Henderson (team-high 31 in Game 2).
The April 24 clash is the Trail Blazers’ first home play-off game since June 3, 2021.
“We did a great job on Tuesday and we’re going back to Portland with our home crowd,” Avdija said. “It was going to be loud and we love playing in front of them.”
Meanwhile, on April 23, C.J. McCollum hit the game-winner with 12.5 seconds remaining as the Atlanta Hawks pulled off a nail-biting 109-108 home win over the New York Knicks to take a 2-1 lead.
In Toronto, the Raptors also pulled away late in a 126-104 triumph over the Cleveland Cavaliers that cut the deficit in their play-off series to 2-1.
The Minnesota Timberwolves edged 2-1 ahead of the Denver Nuggets with a 113-96 home victory. REUTERS, AFP
