The Blazers' offense is being hijacked by Victor Wembanyama

The Alien has officially landed. After missing most of Game 2 and all of Game 3, San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama returned from concussion protocol. With him back in the lineup, the Spurs were unsurprisingly able to clamp down defensively en route to a crucial Game 4 victory.

Things didn't go the Spurs' way in the first half, with the Portland Trail Blazers scoring both inside and out, regardless of whether Wembanyama was in the game or not. Then the second half happened.

Wemby put a lid on the rim, practically turning the paint into a no-fly zone in the third and fourth quarters. With them unable to score inside and bricking shot after shot from three, the Blazers quickly sputtered, managing just 35 points in the second half.

Victor Wembanyama is the Blazers' worst nightmare

San Antonio played terrific team defense, with Wembanyama anchoring the paint. His 11 stocks (steals and blocks) disrupted an already fragile offense.

That was only part of the fun, however. De'Aaron Fox and Wembanyama helped San Antonio's offense roar back to life. In fact, the Silver and Black outscored Portland 73-35 in the second half.

Everything that could go wrong did for the Blazers. Even their strategy of attacking when Wembanyama was out of the game didn't work.

Wemby only averaged 29.2 minutes per game during the regular season. However, he played 34 minutes in both Game 1 and Game 4. That dramatically decreased the Blazers' opportunity to score with him out of the game.

Other potential points of attack for the Blazers included the offensive glass and getting out in transition. Be that as it may, neither was successful due to Wembanyama.

The Blazers' offense is being hijacked by Victor Wembanyama

Wembanyama ranks third in the NBA in rebounds and defensive rebounds per game and grabbed 11 in Game 4. Better still, San Antonio actually grabbed nine offensive rebounds, compared to seven for the Blazers.

Part of that was due to them going with Robert Williams more than Donovan Clingan. Clingan is an elite offensive rebounder but has struggled this series, especially defending away from the rim, resulting in more minutes for Williams.

Speaking of playing out on the perimeter, Wembanyama playing away from the rim makes it harder for Portland to attack in transition. That is due to him being able to get back to guard the paint.

San Antonio also did a great job of taking care of the ball, winning the turnover battle with just 12 giveaways compared to 18 by the Blazers.

With no obvious ways to exploit the Spurs defensively, the Blazers have struggled to score consistently enough to challenge the Silver and Black. Even without Wemby. With him back, the difference between San Antonio and Portland was just made painfully obvious.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow