The Spurs face a massive identity crisis without Victor Wembanyama

The San Antonio Spurs managed to clamp down defensively on the Portland Trail Blazers in their Game 1 playoff victory. That was due in large part to newly crowned unanimous Defensive Player of the Year winner Victor Wembanyama.

Wembanyama is perfectly equipped to shut down what the Blazers want to do. Unfortunately, his suffering a concussion in Game 2 has thrown a wrench into San Antonio's plans while unlocking the Blazers offense.

Portland star Deni Avdija is one of the best slashers in the NBA. No Wemby means that the Silver and Black no longer has the ultimate rim deterrent who can shut down drives.

It doesn't help the Spurs that Scoot Henderson has arguably been even better than Avdija over the first two games of the series. He's averaging 24.5 points and shooting a blistering 53.5% from three. Having both players play well in the absence of Wemby could spell trouble for the Silver and Black.

As a result, San Antonio will have to rely more on Luke Kornet and Stephon Castle to counter the Blazers and their revitalized offensive attack.

Having no Victor Wembanyama unlocks the Blazers' offense

Castle is highly effective fighting his way around screens, making it harder for Avdija to get downhill and attack the rim. Even if he does, San Antonio will still have an elite rim protector on the floor with Kornet.

Spurs fans all know that Kornet can more than hold his own starting at center and has played extremely well. However, problems may start to arise when Kornet is off the floor.

The Spurs opted to go small without Wembanyama and Kornet on the floor and had no rim protection and struggled on the glass. That gives Portland an opening to attack San Antonio. Even if it's only 16-18 minutes in Game 3, the Blazers could put pressure on the rim.

The Spurs must win the non-Kornet minutes to crush the Blazers

With no Wembanyama for potentially Game 3 and Game 4, the Spurs will have to rely more on their perimeter attack. That means more scoring from De'Aaron Fox, Castle, and Dylan Harper.

It also means San Antonio taking advantage of their positional size when playing small. When Kornet is off the floor, even though they are playing small, they have three big forwards in Julian Champagnie, Harrison Barnes, and Carter Bryant.

They might not be able to keep the Blazers off the glass, but San Antonio can still punish them and win those non-center minutes. The Spurs can play faster with at least two ballhandlers on the floor most of the game.

They can also space the floor better around their guards when playing without Kornet. The Blazers --who are one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA—can't afford to get into a shootout with the Spurs. Defensively, San Antonio has more switchability, helping to cover for a lack of shot blocking.

Ultimately, the Spurs can still hold their own without Wembanyama thanks to having Kornet. Nevertheless, San Antonio's beating the Blazers without Wemby will depend heavily on playing small.

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