The San Antonio Spurs are in the playoffs for the first time since 2019 as the 2nd seed in the West, and after last night’s Play-In Tournament games, we know their first round opponent. In a weird scheduling idea that had many people confused, the East 9 vs. 10 game was first — with the Hornets eliminating the Heat in a dramatic game, complete with a controversial missed call that should have seen LaMelo Ball ejected early for tripping and injuring Bam Adebayo — followed by the West 7 vs. 8 game that actually
mattered to the Spurs: the Phoenix Suns vs. the Portland Trail Blazers.
In a game whose win probability chart looks like a sinusoidal wave, with the Suns leading much of the first and fourth quarter while the Blazers owned the second and third, it was looking like the Suns would pull it out, leading by as much as 11 with 6:41 left before Portland made the comeback. A three from Jerami Grant gave the Blazers their first lead of the fourth quarter with just under two minutes to go before things went back and forth as Devin Booker tried to guide his team to the finish line.
Unfortunately, a couple of turnovers cost Phoenix the game, and two Deni Avdija free throws and a Grant dunk off a steal with 4.5 seconds left sealed the 114-110 victory for Portland, securing their spot as the 7th seed in the West and as the Spurs’ first round opponent. The Suns will go on to face the winner of the West’s 9 vs. 10 matchup between the Clippers and Warriors in a battle for the 8th seed and the right to face the Thunder in round 1.
The Spurs went 2-1 against Portland in the regular season, with all three being relatively close games. The Spurs won the most recent game last week 112-101 without Victor Wembanyama, who had suffered a bruised rib in the previous game. While perhaps a less daunting opponent than the Suns in the sense that they lack explosive offensive players like Booker or Green, the are still big, strong, physical team with an All-Star forward in Avdija. They also have many similarities with the Spurs, with their young core being inexperienced in the playoffs, but they still have vets with championship experience, like Jrue Holiday, to guide them.
It will also be a clash of two coaches making their playoff debut in Mitch Johnson and former Spurs champion Tiago Splitter, who both ended up stepping into the role unexpectedly: Johnson after Gregg Popovich suffered stroke last season, and Splitter after Chauncey Billups was placed on indefinite leave after being charged as part of the NBA betting scandal (although he has not been officially been fired by the Blazers yet). Also, also, the Blazers feature a couple of former Spurs in Blake Wesley and Sidy Cissoko.
As if anyone needs a reminder, the rounds are seven-game series in a 2-2-1-1-1 home/away format, with the first to four wins advancing. The series will begin on Sunday, April 19 in San Antonio at 8:00 PM CT and will be shown on NBC and Peacock (note that there are no local broadcasts in the playoffs this year). Game 2 will be on Tuesday at 7:00 (also on NBC and Peacock), then they will travel to Portland for Games 3 and 4, which will be on Friday at 9:30 PM on Prime and Sunday at 2:30 on ESPN. (Thank you to the scheduling gods for looking out for those of us who struggle with Pacific coast games on work nights!)
We will have much more about this series in the coming days, including match-ups, x-factors, etc., but in the meantime, what has you the most excited about this series, and is it the one you wanted? Feel free to discuss, and in the meantime, welcome back to the playoffs, Pounders!
