“Trail Blazers can’t think Spurs’ shooting is cool.”

The Portland Trail Blazers played an energetic and mostly solid game against the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night. They did a reasonably good job dealing with Victor Wembanyama. They fielded two 20-point scorers in Jerami Grant and Deandre Ayton (21 each) and nearly scored third in Anfernee Simons (19). But Portland’s defense just couldn’t stop San Antonio from scoring. The Spurs shot 60% from the field in the first half and 53.7% for the game. Not only did this surpass Portland’s 47.7% margin, it also provided a steady stream of points that the Blazers simply couldn’t keep up with. That led to a 118-105 win for San Antonio on a night where everything was going well for Portland, but just not good enough.

Ayton vs Wemby

The Blazers presented an interesting, perfectly valid plan of attack against Victor Wembanyama. They took advantage of Deandre Ayton, but not in the traditional way. Sending Ayton one-on-one against Wemby would have been a stupid thing to do. Instead, they exploited Wembanyama’s strengths and turned them into weaknesses. They drove the ball into Wemby’s zone and lured him into stopping or blocking it. When the big man’s aggressiveness brought him close to the scene, they threw him behind them to… guess who? Ayton, still lurking behind the play, now without a defender. Deandre scored 9 goals in the first period alone and 17 in the first half with a shooting percentage of 8:10. He finished the game with 21 points and a score of 10-15.

So you see…this is another case where people who are harsh on head coach Chauncey Billups and his staff need to be given a little grace and room to breathe. It was a good plan and the team implemented it almost perfectly. It was a great way to turn a one-on-one positional disadvantage into a neutral situation.

Victor the Great

It’s kind of obvious, but we should spend some time wondering about how good Wembanyama really is. Not doing this is like visiting the Louvre without referring to the Mona Lisa.

The most amazing part of Wembanyama’s game – the one where you say “Sacre Bleu!” is his death. My husband has no right to see the floor the way he does. In the first quarter, he drove the ball deep under the rim, chased by a defender who prevented him from converting a layup. He had options on the edges of the pitch, covered but open enough. Just as I was trying to figure out who he was going to get the ball to, his arm snaked around the defender and launched the rock to a cutter in the middle of the key that hadn’t been there for half a second before. I don’t know many players who could even see that passing lane, let alone get the ball through it. It was a groundbreaking move, and he made it look natural.

Wembanyama’s defense is so good that he deflects shots simply by raising an eyebrow near a driver. He is intimidation personified. His drives look effortless and his finishes are confident. The fact that he can also hit the three is simply unfair. And he never seems to get tired! I saw Donovan Clingan gasp and turn red-faced on the floor after a powerful but modest move in the second half. Wemby had played twice as long and hadn’t even broken a sweat.

At this point, I’m not even sure Wembanyama is human. He’s like some kind of basketball deity who came to earth. It’s a real shame that the Blazers didn’t get the first overall pick in his draft year because I could watch this guy play every night and never get tired.

All in all, the Blazers did a pretty good job of containing the French phenom tonight. He shot just 4-14 from the floor and had 12 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists. His 4 steals, 3 blocks and countless altered throws more than made up for it. And the price was not being able to control anyone else.

Come back

The Blazers scored pretty well against the Spurs tonight, but their defense allowed too many easy shots. San Antonio repeatedly fell behind Portland’s defense, sometimes on kickoffs, sometimes just on cuts at halfcourt. It didn’t help that the centers in Portland had to go on stage to see You-Know-Who. This left the alley open and the first line of defense missing. Baseline cuts gave way to easy passes for layups or dunks. In the fourth quarter, those drives came right down the middle of the lane. Ouch. There was no way to compensate for that.

Sharper image

Shaedon Sharpe returned to action for the first time this season this evening. His shot was confident and decisive. It looks like he hasn’t lost a step or confidence at all. His passing was also crisp and he easily adapted to the system. It was a good first impression. Shaedon finished the game with 13 points on 6-9 shooting and one assist.

Scoot fights

Scoot Henderson, on the other hand, looked like he was pushing it a bit. The Blazers prepared him for one-on-one games, the type of game in which he typically excels. However, Wembanyama had a bad influence on his rankings. Wemby knew Scoot was doing nothing but moving forward, and he hit the Portland guard right there every time. The cumulative effect was that Henderson looked like he was running headfirst into a brick wall most of the night. He scored 11 points on 5-12 shooting, 3 assists and 2 turnovers.

Scoot was a nuisance to the defense, chasing ball handlers. At least there was that.

Banton’s early call

Dalano Banton saw first-half action for the first time all season tonight. His performance in the second quarter was modest. He drove a few times and didn’t make a single shot in ten minutes of play. He had four rebounds and one steal to start. His defense has definitely improved this season.

Fourth quarter heroics were all but missing from Portland’s superhero tonight. Banton finished the game with the same 4 points and shot just 1-8 from the field.

Denise returns

Deni Avdija returned to his week one form tonight, leading the offense alongside the guards and making good passes. Deni had 5 assists with only 1 loss of the ball. His personal offense still comes up every now and then, but you gotta love dishing. His 9 points were complemented by 7 rebounds.

three

We’ve said it after many games this season, so I won’t elaborate on it here. Portland’s three-point shooting is a crucial factor in their chances of winning. Tonight they shot 9-32, 28.1% from distance. San Antonio shot 16-39, 41.0% Enough said.

Next

Box score

The Blazers don’t get any rest and travel to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. Pacific.