The Spurs Know Where the Trail Blazers Thrive. They're Determined to Prevent It

SAN ANTONIO — If their plan was to pretend the Portland Trail Blazers didn't know about their best player, the San Antonio Spurs would be in over their heads.

Luckily, they're smarter than that. Victor Wembanyama, especially.

"The least best-kept secret," Wembanyama quipped at shootaround Wednesday morning, clearly expecting to be the Trail Blazers' defensive focus in Round 1.

In 65 games this season, Wembanyama has yet to play against Portland. His first calf strain kept him out for 12 games from Nov. 16-Dec. 13, which accounted for his first absence; a hyperextended left knee suffered on New Year's Eve and a left rib contusion to close the regular season resulted in the other two.

In those three meetings, the Spurs walked away with a 2-1 record. Still, they feel there is obvious ground to be made up by adding back their franchise cornerstone.

"He will play in the fourth game," Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. "That feels good."

Apr 4, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts in the second half against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

San Antonio learned it drew Portland in the first round late Tuesday night after Deni Avdija led the Trail Blazers to a comeback victory over the Phoenix Suns. His 41 points tied a season high, securing the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and a trip to South Texas.

"The (Spurs) are a great team," the Israeli star said in the aftermath. "Very talented ... it's going to be tough. It's going to be a fight. We're going to bring everything we've got."

From that night onward, the Spurs began watching film. Not much has differed in their preparation, aside from the Wembanyama-sized gap in each clip they watch. But even then, they've played enough without the 22-year-old to understand how to adapt.

"We know where we are," Johnson said. "We will be ourselves. We'll be excited to play. If that means we come out in the first three minutes and there's some nerves, I think that's excitement. But I think we'll get back to being ourselves. That's what I expect."

The Trail Blazers thrive in fast-paced contests. During the regular season, they made opponents uncomfortable by speeding them up on offense while finishing top-10 in PACE themselves, 1.13 points away from the Atlanta Hawks — fifth on the list.

On the other end of the floor, Portland delivers relentless pressure.

"They want to be very physical," Devin Vassell said, careful not to reveal too much. "They like to get up under you. That's one thing that we have to handle: their pressure."

Added Wembanyama: "(They're a) very active team. Very intense. Not an easy team to play."

Apr 8, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Keldon Johnson (3) and Portland Trail Blazers guard Blake Wesley (1) battle for a loose ball during the first half at Frost Bank Center. | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

Leading the offensive charge is Avdija, who — through three games against the Spurs — has averaged 31.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and eight assists on 55 percent shooting from the field and 53 percent shooting from 3. He also thrives with pace.

In that sense, the key to slowing him down, for the Spurs, will be literally slowing him down.

"Playing fast doesn't mean you need to shoot fast or terminate a possession quickly," Johnson said, explaining his squad's defensive mindset. "That just means you want to play with the tempo, rhythm, style of play that your brand of basketball is. I think we're doing that."

With any one of Stephon Castle, Carter Bryant, De'Aaron Fox or Dylan Harper on the perimeter next to take the first stab at stopping Avdija, the forward's job will get increasingly difficult. Having Wembanyama at the rim makes it nearly impossible.

The Trail Blazers, showing their hand slightly, are fine admitting the latter. They, too, won't try to pretend that they don't understand Wembanyama's impact.

"He’s a 7-foot-(4) guy that can handle, shoot, guard the rim and the perimeter," Portland's interim coach Tiago Splitter, a former Spur, said. "It’s not a secret. He’s a very good player.”

Apr 1, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) holds onto the ball against the Golden State Warriors in the second quarter at the Chase Center. | Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The Spurs have reaped the benefits of the time off they received from the end of the regular season. Securing the No. 2 seed outright meant they got to get healthy at home while waiting for their eventual opponent to finish a high-stakes Play-In Tournament game.

Drawing the Trail Blazers didn't change anything about their internal messaging.

"There's a lot of circumstances around the playoffs that are true," Johnson said. "At some stage, it will get back to the same things we talk about every game ... as soon as we can get back to making it the basketball game we've been playing all year, we'll be in a good spot."

Wembanyama, especially, knows the feeling of added pressure. Asked about the last high-stakes game he remembers, he brought up the Olympics, when he led Les Bleus to a Silver Medal in Paris in the summer after his rookie season.

He misses those stakes. But with every passing day with the playoffs looming, he's relished in the feeling of their incremental return. He feels the pressure.

"Everybody is a little more locked in," he said. "Everybody is a little more involved."

When the Frenchman arrived to the NBA, he promised the Spurs a championship. He doesn't know when it will come, but he says he knows it will happen.

The child in him can't help but dream about the idea of hoisting a Larry O'Brien trophy in June. The competitor in him send a constant mental reminder to stay grounded.

As long as he's waited for this moment, he'll have to wait some more.

"I'm as ready as you can be," Wembanyama said. "These moments, it's really what you work on all year, but also your whole career. We were dreaming of playoffs as kids."

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