San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama left Game 2 of their first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday and entered the league's concussion protocol. With 8:57 remaining in the second quarter, Wembanyama lost his footing and took an extremely hard fall after Blazers guard Jrue Holiday fouled him.
Wembanyama's face hit the floor at high velocity. As a result, he will miss the remainder of the game, according to the Spurs.
Wembanyama appeared dazed initially, and the Spurs called a timeout. When he got up, he went straight to the back. After the timeout, backup center Luke Kornet took his place in the lineup.
In 12 minutes on Tuesday, Wembanyama scored five points on 1-for-3 shooting, dished one assist, grabbed four rebounds, blocked one shot and committed two turnovers. In his spectacular playoff debut two days earlier, he scored 35 points on 13-for-21 shooting and made five of his six 3-point attempts in a 111-98 win.
What would Spurs' lineup look like without Wemby?
On Monday, Wembanyama became the NBA's first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year. He is also a finalist for the Most Valuable Player award. During the regular season, San Antonio was 15.2 points per 100 possessions better with Wembanyama on the court than without him (in non-garbage-time minutes), per Cleaning The Glass.
If he has a concussion and has to miss any games beyond Tuesday's, beating the Blazers will be significantly more difficult for the Spurs.
Kornet, one of the league's best backup bigs, will slide into the starting lineup if Wembanyama is sidelined. He is not the game-changing force that Wembanyama is, but he is a smart, solid positional defender and, listed at 7-foot-1 and 250 pounds, he is enormous. In the regular season, Kornet averaged 11.2 points, 3.2 assists, 10.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per 36 minutes (but averaged just 21 minutes per game). San Antonio went 12-6 in the 18 games that Wembanyama missed.
When Kornet left the game in the second quarter against Portland on Tuesday, rookie Carter Bryant played small-ball "center." Bryant is 6-foot-6, but his wingspan is just about 7 feet and, because of his speed and strength, can guard just about anybody. While Kornet is effective in drop coverage, going small allows the Spurs to defend more aggressively and switch every pick-and-roll if coach Mitch Johnson elects to do so.
San Antonio also has numerous veteran bigs on the bench. Bismack Biyombo, Mason Plumlee and Kelly Olynyk have been used sparingly this season, but, in theory at least, could be pressed into duty while Wembanyama is unavailable.
What does Wemby need to do to clear concussion protocol?
The NBA's concussion policy dictates that, if a player is suspected of having a concussion, he must be removed from participation and undergo a neurological evaluation in a quiet, distraction-free space. If he is not diagnosed with a concussion, he must still be monitored by his team's medical staff and be evaluated again before his team's next practice or game (or, in this case, approximately 24 hours after the first evaluation).
If a player is diagnosed with a concussion, then he can't return to participation for at least 48 hours, and he has to complete the return-to-participation process, which is essentially a series of steps involving increased exertion like using a stationary bike, jogging, agility work and non-contact drills. To move from one step to the next, the player must undergo a neurological examination and be symptom-free. Only once he has completed all of the steps under the supervision of a team physician and the team physician has consulted with the director of the league's concussion program can he be cleared to return.
Game 3 of the series is on Friday in Portland.
