SAN ANTONIO, TX - APRIL 19: Stephon Castle #5 of the San Antonio Spurs dunks against the Portland Trailblazers in the first half of Game One of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs at Frost Bank Center on April 19, 2026 in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledge s and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) | Getty Images A playoff series can turn at any time. The San Antonio Spurs handled the Portland Trail Blazers at home in Game One on the back of a historic playoff debut from Victor Wembanyama. There were moments, however, where it looked like the Blazers could make it an interesting game, including big runs in the third and fourth quarters, that cut into the Spurs’ lead. Despite the convincing Game One victory, San Antonio has to come out with the same sense of urgency to take care of business on their home floor. In order to take care of business, they’ll have to find a way to slow down Deni Advija. The Blazers’ star was one of the only Portland players who could get into a real rhythm in Game One, scoring 30 points on 12 of 21 shooting. San Antonio did a solid job defending the rim on Sunday, allowing just 42 points in the paint, but Advija was the one Blazer they couldn’t keep away from the rim. The Spurs will have to make some adjustments to decrease Advija’s impact. The Spurs will look to leave some first-playoff-game jitters in the rearview, cut down on some turnovers, and make more easy shots in game two. If they can do that while continuing to play good defense, they will likely be heading to Portland with a 2-0 lead. San Antonio Spurs (1-0) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (0-1) April 21st, 2026 | 7 PM CT Watch: NBC/Peacock | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM) Spurs Injuries: Jordan McLaughlin – Out (ankle) Trail Blazers Injuries: Damian Lillard – Out (achilles) What to watch for: Taking advantage of bigs guarding Castle Portland used an interesting defensive approach to guarding Wembanyama and Stephon Castle on Sunday. They put Donovan Clingan on Castle, and Toumani Camara on Wemby. It makes sense from the Blazers’ perspective. Camara is their best defender, and teams have found some success using wings to guard Wembanyama. Given Castle’s inconsistent jump shot, they can have the big man guarding him sag way off to provide more interior defense. Unfortunately for the Blazers, that strategy didn’t work on Wembanyama, who had a monster 35-point game. It did, however, throw Castle out of rhythm. Castle had 17 points on 4-13 shooting. These matchups are crucial in this series. If Castle can make the Blazers pay for not guarding him from outside, the strategy fails for Portland. But if he continues to score easy buckets, it slows down a key cog in the Spurs’ offense. It will be interesting to see how Mitch Johnson and the Spurs staff counter this defense in Game Two. Three-point variance The Blazers are not a good three-point shooting team. They’ve shot just 34.3% from deep this season, and hit only 26% of their 38 attempts in Game One. The Spurs seemed fine with players like Clingan, Robert Williams III, and Matisse Thybulle firing up shots from deep. The Blazers’ missing open shots were one of the reasons the Spurs’ defense looked so effective. However, as we saw in the play-in game against the Phoenix Suns, Portland can hit a three-point shooting hot streak. If Portland’s shaky shooters start to hit shots, Game Two could get interesting in a hurry. Guard play It didn’t feel like the Blazers sent a lot of double-teams at Wembanyama in Game One. For most of the game, he was able to operate independently in the pick-and-roll, on the block, or behind the three-point line. After his dominant game on Sunday, it’s likely he starts to see multiple defenders when he catches the ball. That means it will be on De’Aaron Fox, Castle, Dylan Harper, and Devin Vassell to take the pressure off. Fox and Vassell were excellent in Game One, coming up with big plays, especially in the second half. San Antonio will need its guards to come up big to maintain homecourt advantage in this series. ...read more read less