Why Victor Wembanyama’s Playoff Dominance Should Scare the Blazers

The Blazers are building around Donovan Clingan at the center position, who proved to be no match for Wemby during their first-round series last month. Clingan, like Wembanyama, is 22 years old. He isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Clingan represents the ideal frame to try and contain Wembanyama at 7-2, 280 pounds, but it's going to take more than that to defend the Spurs' big man.

There is more to the Spurs than Wemby, but he proved against the Thunder that he is by far the most dangerous cog to the machine.

The Thunder Might Be The Only Antidote

The Thunder may have come out on the losing end of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, but they certainly gave it quite the effort. They had no answer for Wemby despite having Chet Holmgren on the floor, but the Thunder needed Wembanyama to have a generational game in order to win in double overtime.

The Thunder are fortunate to have a two-time MVP in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is simply on a much higher level than any player on the Blazers roster. It's hard to imagine anyone playing for Portland reaching that potential. Deni Avdija has the best chance, but it's still unlikely.

The Bottom Line

The Spurs and Thunder are on a tier much higher than the other squads in the Western Conference. For teams like the Blazers plotting their way to the top, they will have to leap higher and farther than usual to reach that level.

San Antonio and Oklahoma City are built to last in the contender conversation for a very long time, making it that much harder for Portland to get where it wants to go.

The Blazers' young core has plenty of upside, but with the Spurs accelerating their timeline, Portland's front office must be incredibly precise with its upcoming moves just to keep pace.