The San Antonio Spurs had relatively little trouble disposing of the Portland Trail Blazers in their recent best-of-seven, first-round NBA Playoffs series. San Antonio won the matchup 4-1. They’re now on their way to face the severely-injured Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round while Portland heads into a summer of retooling and evolution.
As it turns out, Spurs center Victor Wembanyama is looking forward to the next challenge. According to Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News, the Blazers were too basic for Wembanyama’s tastes. Orsborn quotes the Defensive Player of the Year thus:
After facing “pretty straightforward” Portland, Wemby said he’s “excited to play against teams that will challenge more of the tactical, technical basketball aspect.”
Hopefully Wembanyama will find his challenge, his balance, or whatever he needs to find against the Timberwolves or whomever the Spurs will face in the Western Conference Finals. NBA sommeliers will need to step up their game when serving opponents to him. God forbid the All-World center should be bored.
Perhaps the Blazers will also circle their first game against the Spurs next season and try to be a bit more tactical and technical in their approach towards the seven-footer? We’ll see.