Deni Avdija is potentially the best driver in the NBA. Donovan Clingan is potentially the best offensive rebounder in the NBA. Both guys have been instrumental in lifting the Blazers to the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs — and both now have their biggest challenges yet as Victor Wembanyama, a historically good interior defender, will be tasked with stopping both of those things.
The San Antonio Spurs allow the fourth-fewest second chance points in the league, and the seventh-fewest points in the paint. It's a team effort, but Wembanyama is obviously the biggest reason this team is so elite at cutting off the paint to opponents.
It's not merely that Wembanyama is a good defender, either. He's historically impactful as a paint presence. He has averaged over 3 blocks per game each season of his career, and probably averages double-digits in shots not attempted because of how terrified opponents are of his presence.
In other words, attacking the rim (which I have begged the Blazers to do more) is not a strategy conducive to success in this series. It also doesn't help that San Antonio has the best defensive rebounding rate in the league, meaning that Donovan Clingan's best strength could be wiped out, too. It's, frankly, a terrible numbers matchup for the Blazers.
Blazers drives and offensive rebounding might be neutralized
In the place of aggressive driving and offensive rebounds, the Blazers will need to do a few things they haven't been great at all year to keep pace with the Spurs: firstly, protect the ball.
The Spurs have an elite defense, but that is mostly because of how good Wemby is inside; they don't force a ton of turnovers (fifth-fewest in the league), and the Blazers have to at least give themselves a chance by holding onto the ball and getting shot attempts up.
Then, of course, they have to make those shot attempts. We know the Blazers aren't shy about taking the shots, and Jerami Grant and Shaedon Sharpe being back in the lineup does help things considerably.
Still, the Blazers' best traits — rim finishing, free throw attempts, and offensive rebounding — are all things that Victor Wembanyama single-handedly takes off the table. To even give themselves a chance, the Blazers will be forced to do things they haven't been able to do all year. But hey, I was already writing the team's obituary in the fourth quarter on Tuesday night, so who knows?
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