As Portland Trail Blazers players shot free throws around the practice gym in Tualatin on Thursday afternoon, Michael Jackson’s joyous hit “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” pumped through the speaker system. What a fitting song choice for a team preparing to enter the NBA Playoffs for the first time in five years.
After overcoming the Phoenix Suns in a thrilling Play-In win on Tuesday, the seventh-seeded Blazers want to get greedy as they take on the second-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round
of the Playoffs. To get past this next obstacle, Portland will need to defeat a 62-win juggernaut and the already mythic 7-foot-4 Victor Wembanyama. But the underdogs are coming in with confidence.
Following Thursday’s practice, Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter and players gave some insights into the team’s headspace and Playoff prep. Here are some quick hitters from the media availability session.
- Splitter was asked about the team’s areas of emphasis as they prepare for the Spurs. The first thing he mentioned was Wembanyama:
- “Of course, Wembanyama is a big emphasis for us, offensively and defensively. How we are gonna guard him. How we are gonna attack him … He brings something different that other teams don’t have, so we gotta be ready for that.”
- In a response to a follow-up question, Splitter got a little more specific about the challenges the third-year center presents:
- “Well, he’s a 7-5 guy that can handle the ball, shoot, guard the rim, guard the perimeter, so all those little things. It’s not a secret.”
- Splitter also said the team’s newfound health and depth will help give them options in how they attack Wembanyama:
- “Now we have different cards to play with. We can go small. We can go double big. We can do different things on the court.”
- One box-office aspect of this series people are anticipating is Blazers All-Star Deni Avdija blazing toward the cup against Wembanyama’s paint protection. Regarding that matchup, Avdija said he’s going to stay aggressive and not overthink things.
- “I play to my instincts. I know he’s a good shot-blocker. We’ll make our adjustments. We’ll put myself and others in a good situation to finish and to do different things. And obviously, we will need to make some tough shots sometimes, and it’s part of the game.”
- Blazers center Donovan Clingan also explained his mindset for approaching this Playoff series:
- “Win. I feel like this is what you play 82 games a year for. We worked hard to make the Playoffs and make a run, and I feel like we have a very special group that can do something special.”
- Avdija was asked what he would say to people doubting the Blazers in this series. His response:
- “People didn’t predict us beating the Suns, as well. … I feel like not a lot of people, especially around the league, know our capabilities and our talent very well. I think we’re a dangerous team.”
Game 1 of the Blazers-Spurs series is set to tip off on Sunday at 6 p.m. Pacific in San Antonio.
