Game Thread Playoffs Round 1, Game 2: Spurs vs Blazers (1-0) (Tue 04/21/2026) [7:00 CDT]

[DaSlicer]

Scoot might be playing above his regular season average, but he's had this talent in him. It's not a fluke IMO. He can hit shots, and it seems he gets up for big games (he got up for those games against Victor when they played his Mets team).
You are right, though, they have to slow him down, but I just don't see how. I can just see it that he's trying to make a point/name for himself this series.



I think you're spot on with that assessment. The scenario you lay out is exactly what I was thinking at the end of the game. I mean, it's why I wanted them to win game 2 so badly. I thought they might be coming back from Portland tied if Victor doesn't play. Regardless of Victor playing or not, they have to find a way to come back home tied up.

ICE he maybe talented hence why he was the third pick of the draft but his performance is fluky. 64 percent is way too high of shooting percentage for a player to have in a series. I can't even recall prime Duncan ever having a series where he shot above 60 percent from the field. Shaq I think had a few series where he did it in the first round. A guy shooting that well is dominating at Shaq levels and at levels Duncan never did. That shows you this is fluky. Spurs have to find a way to bring this guy down to earth.

I'll break it down further a guy who normally shoots 40 percent from the field will have games during the season where he can shoot at 50 percent but the next game he will shoot at an abysmal 30 percent. Scoot has had plenty of bad shooting games this year. Castle or whoever is guarding him has to take it personal and take him out of the rhythm. They should take it personal since he's talking a lot of shit. The only guy I saw who took it personal was Harper who did somewhat of a good job on him when he guarded him.

 

[Ice009]

I know Shaq did it. I am pretty sure in that finals against the Pistons he was shooting over 60% from the field yet Kobe wasn't passing him the ball as he was trying to make it a personal battle between himself and show that he can't be stopped by Tayshaun Prince's defense. It cost them the series. Yes, you are right about how far above his percentage he's going. I'm still trying to adjust from the loss and refocus. His numbers are too high for it to be a regular level.

I just think Scoot is a good player is all. People are dismissing him and I was just trying to say that he's very capable of having games like this. He never seemed like someone who would shy away from the bright lights. He's looking to make a name for himself, and now after those first two games, unfortunately, I think he's got a lot of confidence. Players can get hot for a whole series, but I hope it's not the case this time around. I hope he has a stinker and loses more of it as the series goes on.

 

[DaSlicer]

I know Shaq did it. I am pretty sure in that finals against the Pistons he was shooting over 60% from the field yet Kobe wasn't passing him the ball as he was trying to make it a personal battle between himself and show that he can't be stopped by Tayshaun Prince's defense. It cost them the series. Yes, you are right about how far above his percentage he's going. I'm still trying to adjust from the loss and refocus. His numbers are too high for it to be a regular level.

I just think Scoot is a good player is all. People are dismissing him and I was just trying to say that he's very capable of having games like this. He never seemed like someone who would shy away from the bright lights. He's looking to make a name for himself, and now after those first two games, unfortunately, I think he's got a lot of confidence. Players can get hot for a whole series, but I hope it's not the case this time around. I hope he has a stinker and loses more of it as the series goes on.

Your right players can unfortunately get hot for a series. It just sucks to see him going off because I don't think he will maintain if if the Blazers advance and face either Nuggets or Wolves. We will then see him go back to his mediocre shooting percentages. He's using personal fuel right now of losing to Victor in the past I believe when he was in high school and how the Spurs picked Victor over him.

 

[Max_power]

I ain't even mad, for some reasons this lose doesn't bothered me as much. This are the playoff, not always is gonna be easy, this was a game where you just feel that everything that could be wrong, just happen. The Wemby inccident, Harper and HB injuries, Castle with his Westbrook impression , Scoot with the game of his life, the chokejob at the end, and so on. It was one of these days, and let just aprecciate that it was in game two of the first round, againts a team that we are gonna beat anyways, and not againts a team that you just can't have these kind of games because its over.

 

[Arcadian]

You could see in his body language he was determined.

He was determined not to be the forgotten lottery pick of 2023

 

[e78]

Im not worried about it. I'm frustrated because they should have won that game last night. I still blame mitch and the coaching staff for getting out of the flow of the offense in the mid 4th.

If wemby is out the next game its not great but there is a difference between knowing hes out and him going out mid game and having to change your mindset/game plan on the fly

 

[Ice009]

Your right players can unfortunately get hot for a series. It just sucks to see him going off because I don't think he will maintain if if the Blazers advance and face either Nuggets or Wolves. We will then see him go back to his mediocre shooting percentages. He's using personal fuel right now of losing to Victor in the past I believe when he was in high school and how the Spurs picked Victor over him.

Nothing I hate more when seeing that happen. I remember teams or players beating the Spurs during the Duncan era playing the games or series of their lives and then never playing that good ever again (and that's no exaggeration).
I hope the same sh#t doesn't happen with Scoot.

 

[DaSlicer]

Nothing I hate more when seeing that happen. I remember teams or players beating the Spurs during the Duncan era playing the games or series of their lives and then never playing that good ever again (and that's no exaggeration).
I hope the same sh#t doesn't happen with Scoot.

Agreed it drove me nuts when certain guys would play out of their ass against the Spurs during the Duncan era but couldn't do it against other teams. I think if the Blazers win this series Scoot will be another example of this. The hate motivation Scoot has only works for a series and then it wears off when you face an opponent you have no beef with. I see Scoot if the Blazers win this series being his mediocre self against Wolves or Nuggets. I will definitely hate watch a Blazers-Wolves or Nuggets series.

 

[Weeks]

Sigh…
Hopefully people realise this is one game, a game in which we didn’t play well and yet almost eeked it out.
I’ll back our three Backcourt Gs to come back strong.

Does anyone remember the nightmare of a first round in ‘14 against Dallas? They got it done in 7 and it seemed to turbocharge them the rest of the way.

lol you can’t compare this team to that 14 team. A team coming off a finals run with proven championship pedigree.
The 26 spurs haven’t really proven anything yet.

 

[spurs10]

Wemby' injury was a hard thing to see. wishing the best for him. Our team needs to pony up and go up there and beat these guys. The thought of Wemby playing Friday or Sunday seems very far fetched and he needs to be cautious. So we have no choice but to win. Challenge the refs with their one-sided calls, make our FTs, and move the ball.
We can do this! Go Spurs!

 

[Wemby_Island]

fk me, game 2 couldnt have gone worse

why, basketball gods

Unfortunately its bound to happen.

Spurs should work on Victors Offense this off season. Should make it easy around him.

If you observe he never falls on D and injures there. His technique is sound most part.

Its just O where he tries to do too much, bends in wrong angles etc. All that circus stuff can be easily avoidable as he can shoot the heck out of game.

 

[Spurminator]

What do you mean is it my first time? Spurs haven't looked that great in games 1 and 2 (they're darn lucky they're playing Portland and I feel like I'm disrespecting the Blazers now by saying that). They haven't really brought the playoff intensity. Victor could be out games 3 and 4, or even further. The Moda center fans will be out for blood. This is a young team that could very easily buckle.

Have you watched an NBA playoff game before concerning a young team with big expectations? This isn't the Tim Duncan Spurs that were poised and you could still feel confident. I think some people here (including you) are forgetting this isn't the Spurs Championship teams loaded with veterans and a prime TD. Even with a 2-0 lead, I expected the Spurs to likely come back from Portland 2-2 even with Victor playing. I hope they prove me wrong, but this loss feels bigger than just a single game due to a variety of factors (Victor out, young team, no playoff experience, not very good shooters on the Spurs' team that will be needed to hit shots on the road).

A lot of star players better than what the Spurs currently have (minus Victor) have been swept (Shaq, Kobe etc.). I've seen a lot of great players get swept and lose in the playoffs when they were young and had little experience. I can just tell this team isn't ready and hasn't been ready in either game. Jittery starts both games. Again, darn lucky they're playing the Blazers and are tried 1-1. Victor had a great shooting game in game 1. Who knows the outcome if he didn't.

You called the series a 1-3 deficit after a game 2 home loss, as though it's historically unheard of (or even rare) for a banged up 2 seed to take one or two back on the opponent's floor.

Why assume 2 losses without Wemby when the Spurs have outscored Portland in both of the last two games while he wasn't on the floor? Now we have a chance to game-plan around playing without him. It's not like the Blazers are a bunch of hardened Playoff vets other than Holiday.

So yeah, you sound like you're new to Playoff basketball. Strap in! It's not always smooth.

 

[elpimpo4cc]

You called the series a 1-3 deficit after a game 2 home loss, as though it's historically unheard of (or even rare) for a banged up 2 seed to take one or two back on the opponent's floor.

Why assume 2 losses without Wemby when the Spurs have outscored Portland in both of the last two games while he wasn't on the floor? Now we have a chance to game-plan around playing without him. It's not like the Blazers are a bunch of hardened Playoff vets other than Holiday.

So yeah, you sound like you're new to Playoff basketball. Strap in! It's not always smooth.

strap in? more like strap on -- and the blazers are running this train unfortunately

 

[Ice009]

You called the series a 1-3 deficit after a game 2 home loss, as though it's historically unheard of (or even rare) for a banged up 2 seed to take one or two back on the opponent's floor.

Why assume 2 losses without Wemby when the Spurs have outscored Portland in both of the last two games while he wasn't on the floor? Now we have a chance to game-plan around playing without him. It's not like the Blazers are a bunch of hardened Playoff vets other than Holiday.

So yeah, you sound like you're new to Playoff basketball. Strap in! It's not always smooth.

I get what you're saying and I reacted badly as I literally just watched the game for the first time when I started posting, but I still disagree with what you're saying. It seems you're treating them as a veteran laden team and they are not that. It's those types of teams that have the poise to win games in those types of situations. I know you're looking at the positives, but I'm not seeing as many as you are. If Victor was to play both games, I'd feel much, much better about it, but still wouldn't guarantee it.

Anyway, number of reasons.
1. Spurs are likely to be without Victor for those two games.
2. They have zero playoff experience and those two games are going to be on the road with a Portland team that has now gained a lot of confidence (think back to Memphis Grizzlies against the Spurs in 2011 playoffs, once they gained confidence, they were tough to stop and Manu only missed one game of that series. I certainly hope it doesn't go like that.)
3. It's the playoffs and it's a road game which is much harder to win, especially when you're a young inexperienced team. You can't expect these guys to climb out of holes the Duncan, Manu, TP, Kawhi etc. Spurs were able to.
4. I don't feel like the Spurs have played well at all these first two games. They've started both games jittery and if they do that in Portland, they may not be able to mount a comeback like they were in the home games. They gotta be way sharper and ultra focused.
5. They don't have any real backup bigmen and the Spurs keep getting beaten on the boards badly in games recently, or struggle in games they have one or zero of their top two bigs available.
A few more reasons than that, but that is sort of what I was thinking after I watched the game.

I'm at least a bit more optimistic today, but there's still lots going against the Spurs heading into these two road games. They're going to have to be super focused with little margin for error. Can't have any silly or careless turnovers if they want a chance to win one or both.

 

[PhantomDashCam]

lol you can’t compare this team to that 14 team. A team coming off a finals run with proven championship pedigree.
The 26 spurs haven’t really proven anything yet.

From an experience standpoint, you’re absolutely right. However IIRC, we were heavily favoured in the series, our guards got out played in several games collectively and many of the games were nip and tuck affairs.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201405020DAL.html

If Spurs can’t beat Portland without Wemby (and this is no disrespect to the Blazers), we were never beating Denver, OKC, Boston or NYK with him.