Sept de faits
2026 NBA Western Conference Semifinals, Game 5
Helicopter - Isn’t it lovely when you call your shot in a blog post on what’s about to happen in a basketball game and then everything you predicted comes to pass pretty much exactly how you predicted it? I’m not necessarily saying you can find me right here levitating above all of the prognosticators, pundits, and so-called experts (who get paid handsome sums of money to do this for a living) even though I’m squeezing this project into every spare minute I can find (outside of the 60 to 80 hours per week I’m currently dedicating to building the labor movement) and I’m doing it strictly for my love of the craft of writing, my love for the game of basketball, and most of all, my devotion to the San Antonio Spurs. What I am saying unequivocally, however, is my pedigree and track record speak for themselves. I know this project went on hiatus for seven years (more or less) so If you don’t believe me, peep the back catalogue. Or if you don’t want to bother, that’s fine too. I’m not writing for clicks (this blog series isn’t monetized) or to be in competition with the virtuosos (game recognize game) or to receive acclaim for my erudition (my cup is full from the occasional glance of affirmation I get from my cat). I’m completely secure in the quality of my work. I’m writing because I’m an artist and therefore I must. I’m writing to connect with a deeper consciousness. I’m writing for permanence. And I’m writing about the San Antonio Spurs, specifically, because I’ve been obsessed with this team since the age of eleven and as Twain advised, “write what you know.” I’ve thought about Spurs basketball every day for the past 36 years. You’ll be hard pressed to find a bigger or more knowledgeable fan and you’ll find it nearly impossible to find one who writes like this. I write when the San Antonio Spurs are in the playoffs for myself because it brings me joy. Whether or not it gets read and appreciated by other people now or at any point in the future is immaterial. For me, I’m right here levitating either way. It’s up to you to decide for yourself whether or not one of the most prolific Spurs writers and historians of an entire generation has been right here hiding in plain sight.
* * *
On Tuesday night, Victor Wembanyama, his elbow and the entire city of San Antonio took the declaration that the Spurs don’t lose two in a row to frost bank, vanquishing the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-97 ✅ As predicted, coming back from the shot heard ‘round the world ejection in Game 4, Wemby was a colossal combination of amped up and locked in from the opening tip scoring 16 points and grabbing five rebounds in the first five minutes of the game ✅ The ascending greatest player in the world went on the have one of his most dominant performances of the series posting an imposing 27 points (9-16 from the field, 2-5 from deep, 7-9 from the line), 17 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks. Wemby had the play-of-the-series so far with just under five minutes left in the fourth when he pump-faked his fellow French national team mentor and friend Rudy Gobert out of his shorts before dropping a dime to Julian Champagnie for the lay with Rudy spun out in the completely wrong direction. (Don’t forget to watch the Dylan Harper reaction 😂 I love that Dylan Harper meme faces are now a thing.) With a plus/minus of +24, it’s safe to say that while seeking atonement, our superstar achieved exactly that. Vic was special in Game 5 ✅ The Timberwolves made their runs but after jumping on them 24-9 early, we pretty much led wire-to-wire. Minny squared the game once in the second half at 61-61 with 7:51 left in the third but never got a lead and then fell quickly back into a double-digit hole from which they never escaped. In the blink of an eye, that double-digit hole was 30. On Tuesday, the #BlackAndSilver played our brand of basketball, imposed our will on the opponent and stamped Game 5 with another emphatic home W. Proper trajectory for the series resumed ✅
Speaking of that run the Wolves made to start the third quarter, the one that enabled them to tie the game at 61-61, the player of the game was Stephon Castle. After outclassing Minnesota for most of the first half, we went cold down the stretch of the second quarter and as a result, what should have been a 20+ point lead at the break was only 12. So when we came out of the locker room slower than an NBA investigation into Kawhi Leonard-Steve Ballmer-Aspiration salary cap circumvention and the drought continued for several minutes while the Wolves kept making shots, it was safe the say we were once again facing some real adversity. You know, the type of adversity our lack of playoff experience is supposed to require us to buckle under. Minnesota is a hard-nosed, credentialed playoff mainstay with an eye on a third straight trip to the Western Conference Finals. The entire history of basketball says the moment they caught us at 61 in the third quarter of Game 5 on our home court in a 2-2 series, they had us. Our lack of experience was supposed to be our undoing in that moment. Instead, it was baptism by the fire and fury of a 21 year-old second-year iconoclast who doesn’t have the experience and just doesn’t care.
To give all credit where it’s due, the response to Ayo Dosunmu’s bucket that tied the score at 61 started with a momentous triple by Julian from a Wemby assist. That small crack of daylight allowed every Spurs fan to exhale but also, that was all Stephon Castle needed to bulldoze down the door. On the next Minnesota possession, Steph spring-boarded over Gobert to snag the rebound and immediately drew the fourth foul on Jayden McDaniels (the Wolves best perimeter defender). He then brought the ball up the court on the left, drove right around a double-screen set by Julian and Victor and (with Anthony Edwards guarding him) crossed over left into a lightening-quick spin back right for a running four-foot bank shot. This ridiculous display of speed and power put the Spurs back up five. Minny got an open Terrence Shannon Jr. corner three on their next possession which missed but Gobert snagged the offensive rebound. Vic was out of position to guard him at the rim but Keldon Johnson wasn’t. KJ swooped in to block the dunk attempt and knock the ball off of Rudy. After receiving the inbound from the turnover, Castle sprinted back up the right side of the court, threw the ball into Wemby in the post but continued cutting to the basket with unrelenting determination. Vic dropped it back off to Steph who spring-boarded again off of two feet like he was shot out of a cannon for a power dunk. 7-0 run San Antonio.
Dosunmu hit a floater over Julian to temporarily slow the barrage but before the Wolves could fully set their defense after the made basket, Steph was back at the top of the key taking Shannon off the dribble with a behind-the-back dribble into a runner that sat up gently on the rim before falling through. Julian stole the ball on the next Wolves possession and got it back to Castle on the break. He initiated some ball movement that kept the defense off balance and resulted in a Keldon drive into a bully ball lay-in at the basketball. Before the Wolves knew what hit them, and at the exact moment that NBA history would’ve have informed the basketball gods that it was time to command the Spurs to collapse due to our lack of experience, Stephon Castle aka the iconoclast led the Spurs on an 11-2 run that restored a nine point advantage and, for all intents and purposes, put the game away for the way too young playoff novices. Steph finished the night with 17 points, five assists, and four rebounds but it was his dominance in this critical stretch that earned him player of the game honors. I think he showed the entire NBA punditry where they can shove their ideas about how informative the San Antonio Spurs lack of experience is in assessing our chances of winning it all. (By the way, if you thought we were going to go through this entire season of Black & Silver without discussing Kawhi Leonard’s tree planting philanthropy, you were sorely mistaken.)
While the young team seeking to restore the moniker “Titletown, TX” (as soon as exactly four weeks from today) has overcome every encounter with adversity we’ve come up against in the 2026 NBA playoffs and past every test so far, we haven’t seen a greater test to-date (and one fraught with a higher likelihood for new adversity) than the test we face tonight at the Target Center back in Minneapolis. Closing out the seventh-seeded Portland Trail Blazers at home was one thing. Closing out the team that has had more recent playoff success than any of the remaining other than the champs and doing it on the road on their home floor is going to be an entirely different challenge. The Minnesota Timberwolves are not a candidate for, “One, two, three…Cancún!” They are going to come out ready to play tonight relishing the opportunity to still flip this series on it’s head one more time (and prove the so-called expert narrative accurate that we do have to take our playoff lumps first before we can compete for a championship). As much desperation and resiliency as we can count on Ant Edwards and his band of stone-cold competitors to play with tonight, I am extremely confident we can get this thing done in six if we can match their energy and physicality because there is no arguing that from a talent standpoint, Minnesota is overmatched. Knowing the mindset of Victor Wembanyama and the co-star Stephon Castle that Vic says he wants to play with for the next fifteen years (in other words, knowing the mindset of Area 51), matching the home team’s energy and physicality will not be an issue tonight.
I think I’ve sufficiently conveyed my Spurs fandom bonafides enough already in this post so to balance it out, I will admit there is one gaping hole in my portfolio for the 2026 playoffs. Because I live in Colorado, one of the areas I’m currently lacking is that I don’t get to be in SA experiencing this incredible run with my favorite city in the world. All told, I lived in San Antonio for 16 years and was living in the city for most of the Tim Duncan-era (up to and including the 2014 championship). I moved to Denver in July of 2014 and have been following the team mostly from afar ever since. Back at the beginning of April, I attended the Saturday afternoon epic regular season duel between Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama at Ball Arena. The Nuggets squeaked it out 136-134 in overtime but, despite the loss, it was one of the greatest regular season games I have ever attended. For weeks after that, I assumed we would get a chance at revenge in the second-round of the playoffs against the team that was maintaining and eventually secured the third-seed down the stretch of the regular season. My hopes of seeing The Alien battle The Joker for as many as seven games (and having an opportunity to see another Spurs playoff game in person, something I haven’t gotten to do since Game 5 of the 2019 first round matchup between Denver and San Antonio) was squashed by this very same “too dangerous to every be counted out” Minnesota squad. As mentioned in Deux de moins, I personally know plenty of Timberwolves fans and (because, living in CO, I root for the Nuggs any time they are not playing the Spurs), I distinctly remember them laughing their way all the way into this second round matchup with us after eliminating Denver in Game 6 of the last round. Tonight, I fully expect the better team to do exactly what we don’t have the experience to know that we aren’t supposed to do and in the process, remind Wolves fans that the same thing that made them laugh will make them cry.
Featured Image Source: peermusic
Headline Image Source: Sports Illustrated
Cinq de faits
2026 NBA Western Conference Semifinals, Game 2
Talk That Talk - There were one hundred different ways we could have won Game 1 by simply doing one thing better. Number One could have pumped-faked one time on one of his eight three point attempts and instead drove for one dunk and the and one and we would have won. Number Two could have applied one more ounce of English to his one-of-a-kind finishing ability on the one layup he missed and the wunderkind puts our opponent one bucket closer to 0-1. Number Three could have demonstrated he wanted one rebound one tiny bit more than his defender one time and one pump fake before one finish coupled with making the one free throw he missed and we wouldn’t have finished the evening left wanting. Number Four could have foregone one ill-advised careless pass one time forestalling one unforced turnover and the one extra formulated shot it would’ve produced for sure would have been a game-flipping one. Number Five could have been whistled for one fewer ticky-tack foul by what proved to be one one-sided performance by the officiating crew and one loss later the opposing coach would have had one legitimate reason to be complaining that one (not four or five) of Number One’s twelve blocks was legitimately an illegal one. No wonder the next day’s film session included one special guest whose position on the list of all-time winningest coaches is not five, not four, not three, not two but one.
* * *
I sat down on my couch to watch the Spurs sixth game of the 2024-25 regular season on the evening of November 2nd, 2024 just like I would have on any other night for any other regular season game. We were playing at home in the Frost Bank Center against the Minnesota Timberwolves, a tough opponent coming off of a Western Conference Finals appearance. Even though the season had started out a little bit up and down (we were 2-3 heading into that game), I was looking forward to a good early test for Victor Wembanyama (coming off his 2023-24 Rookie of the Year season), Stephon Castle (this year’s exciting blue chip lottery pick rookie combo guard), Chris Paul (newly acquired legendary future hall-of-fame point guard) and company against Anthony Edwards, Julius Randall and the entire Wolf Pack.
The first thing I noticed was the announcers reporting that Gregg Popovich aka Coach Pop or simply Pop would not be coaching that evening; he was out with an undisclosed ailment. They went on to say assistant coach Mitch Johnson would be the one roaming the sidelines for this contest. At first, I didn’t think much of anything about it (other than I was surprised Mitch Johnson got the call to fill in for Pop over Brett Brown, the vastly more experienced assistant with former head coaching experience in the NBA). After all, Pop had missed a game or two here or there over the past five seasons due to minor medical absences which seemed pretty understandable for a coach in his 70s and now at 75 in his record-breaking 29th consecutive season as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs. I brushed it off as another one of those and thought, it will be cool to watch and see how this young assistant handles the responsibility for one game. (He won the game 113-103 over the currently relevant perennial Western Conference contenders from the Twin Cities.)
Little did I know this at the time but on Halloween, two nights early, I had witnessed the winningest coach in NBA regular season history (1390), winningest coach in NBA regular season + playoffs history combined (1582), three-time NBA Coach of the Year (2003, 2012, 2014), 10-time Western Conference Finalist (1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017), sixth-time NBA Finalist (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2014), five-time NBA Champion (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014) and Hall of Fame (2023) greatest coach in basketball history Gregg Popovich coach his 2,547th and final game as head coach of the San Antonio Spurs in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz. (He also won the game 106-88 because, knowing Pop, he would probably say that, while unexpected, bowing out inconspicuously after a road win in Utah is a fitting way to sign off.)
* * *
On Tuesday, May 5th, the San Antonio Spurs President of Basketball Operations walked into a film room at Victory Capital Performance Center on the campus of The Rock at La Cantera and rolled up his sleeves. One year and three days after officially retiring from the role of head coach of the San Antonio Spurs and 55ish years after allegedly turning down a covert role with the CIA, Gregg Popovich aka Popo aka The Notorious G.C.P. aka El Jefe, never one to miss an opportunity to immerse himself in celebrating the culture of the beloved city he has made his home for the past 32 years, stood in that film room in front of the 2025-2026 San Antonio Spurs players and coaches and, in honor of Cinco de Mayo, held up a piñata. He proceed to run the tape of Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Western Conference semifinals and went play by play, point by point on every improvement the team needed to make in Game 2 in order to pummel the Minnesota Timberwolves into utter submission.
The next night, the #BlackAndSilver did exactly that eviscerating our visitors from the Twin Cities by 38 points, 133-95. This was the third-biggest margin of victory in a playoff game in San Antonio Spurs franchise history as well as Minnesota’s worst playoff defeat in franchise history. I think it’s safe to say that even though Coach Pop’s November 2nd, 2024 stroke left him with limitations that prevented him from returning to the physical demands of coaching NBA basketball, he still has the sharpest basketball tactician mind currently being deployed in the league. What a (not so) secret weapon and valuable resource Mitch Johnson and his players have at their disposal to tap when necessary. And, man, was it ever so necessary this week after fumbling away home court advantage and falling into a 0-1 hole in this Western Conference Semifinals series after a not-quite-ready-for-the-intensity-of-playing-a-more-experienced-playoff-opponent lackadaisical performance on Monday. When it became official on May 2nd, 2025 that the dream of Coach Pop coming full circle to coach the next-generation Wemby-Fox-Castle Spurs to the franchise’s sixth championship was dead due to his medically-necessary retirement from the bench, it was hard and it was sad even though we, as Spurs fans, all knew that he wasn’t going anywhere and was still going to be actively involved in the program through his role in the front office. As amazing of a job as 2025-26 Coach of the Year finalist Mitch Johnson has done in his stead, a subtle melancholy persisted beneath the surface all season knowing Pop had been robbed of the opportunity to lead this young, talented, special group while they are making their leap back into contention. That melancholy was lifted with Wednesday’s dominant, world-class response to adversity in the form of the 38-point drubbing we laid down on Minnesota and knowing how intimately involved El Jefe was in making it happen.
While Wemby had a strong, balanced performance in Game 2 with 19 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal and De’Aaron Fox bounced back from his abhorrent Game 1 performance with a solid and steady 16 points, two assists and two steals, the player of the game was 2nd year phenom Stephon Castle. Steph imposed his will with his physicality on both sides of the ball. On defense, he held the T-Wolves franchise player Anthony Edwards in check as the primary defender, holding Ant to 12 points (5-13 shooting), zero assists, and four turnovers. Castle was once again in foul trouble (and once again called for a couple of soft ones) but he felt much more in control and intentional about what he was trying to do on that end of the floor in Game 2. On offense, he led the team in scoring with 21 points on an efficient 6-10 from the field and a stellar 9-9 from the line. He added four rebounds, four assists, and two steals for good measure. One of the questions posed by the talking heads in the national media heading into the postseason was asking if the lack of playoff experience would prove costly for the Spurs’ young, talented core in our pursuit of an “ahead of schedule” title run. I think it’s safe to say that the 2024 NCAA Champion UConn Husky was built for this.
While it is quite plausible that wire-to-wire 38-point historic beat down that we laid on the wounded Timberwolves on Wednesday night at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio might have broken them, we would be beyond foolish to count on it. This team has been here before, knows what it takes to respond and even though we are now +36 in total points for the series, the fact remains the series is tied 1-1 and Minnesota is currently still in control of home court advantage. They have an opportunity to reset and regroup tonight at home in the comfortable confines of the Target Center in Minneapolis and protect the home court they earned by snatching the toss up on Monday that was Game 1. A wounded animal is a dangerous one and if you underestimate the battle-tested Minnesota Timberwolves, you do so at your own peril. In order to regain home court advantage tonight, we need to come out sharp, focused and ready to control the tempo and the physicality of tonight’s proceedings. Game 3 is not going to be a cakewalk. It is going to be a war. Luckily for us, our (not so) secret weapon is likely holed up in a bunker somewhere deep in the bowels of Victory Capital Performance Center on the campus of The Rock at La Cantera back home in San Antonio confident that the message has been delivered about the preparedness that is necessary to play with the appropriate fear tonight and get this wounded animal back in its cage. With Gregg Charles Popovich back doing what he does best (preparing his team for playoff success), I like our chances to do exactly that tonight. We are beyond lucky for the last 30 years and everything that’s still to come. Thank you for choosin’ Texas, Coach Pop. Can’t wait to see what your incomparable basketball tactician mind has in store for us next. In Pop we trust.
Featured Image Source : The Honey POP
Headline Image Source: TODAY
Trois de faits
2026 NBA Western Conference First Round, Game 4
Aperture - We didn’t know what the future would hold when De’Aaron Fox, through his agent, Rich Paul, requested a trade from the Sacramento Kings to the San Antonio Spurs midway through the 2024-25 season. At the time, we were starting a 39-year-old point guard (albeit a legendary one) and evaluating how capable our rookie combo guard had the potential to be on the ball initiating offense (turned out…extremely capable). I mean, let’s face it. Just a season and a half before Fox’s trade request, the-man-the-myth-the-legend himself, Coach Pop, had an extremely rare tactical miscue when he attempted to start Jeremy Sohan at point guard at the beginning of Victor Wembanyama’s rookie season (2023-24). The experiment proved to be a failure that stunted both Jeremy and Wemby’s development (just a tiny bit on the latter). So yeah, when you are only that far removed from being the laughing stock of the league at the point guard position and the opportunity presents itself to trade for an all-star and clutch player of the year caliber point guard right smack dab in the middle of his prime without giving up any of your most-prized assets, it’s a no-brainer. You do it 100 times out of 100. The Spurs didn’t become the second-winningest NBA franchise of all-time (to date) and win the fifth-most championships (to date) by whiffing on the easy decisions. On February 3rd, 2025, the San Antonio Spurs traded Zach Collins, Tre Jones, Sidy Cissoko, three of the least valuable in our stockpile of first round picks and three second round picks for De’Aaron Fox and Jordan McLaughlin in a three-way trade with the Sacramento Kings and Chicago Bulls.
If San Antonio Spurs general manager Brian Wright had had the magical power to see into the future and know that a mere four months later, the franchise would have the basketball gods smile down fondly upon us yet again to bless us with a third-straight year of lottery luck and the number two overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft (with a point guard as the consensus number two prospect in the draft class), of course he might have paused to consider if we might be better served to keep our powder dry and hold on to the assets we were going to need to give up to secure Fox’s services in case they might be better allocated later to pursue needs at other positions. If Wright had known then that in a mere five months he was about to draft Dillon Harper, he might have paused to consider Swipa-ing left on Fox, but I think he has proven he’s a savvy enough team builder to have known 100 times out of 100 includes the one in a hundred time where you can have your cake and eat it too. In the sorcerous world where the Spurs’ general manager had the magical power to see our Dylan Harper future during the moment he had the De’Aaron Fox trade deal sitting on the table, he pulls the trigger regardless.
On Sunday afternoon at the Moda Center in Portland, De’Aaron “Swipa” Martez Fox officially silenced all of the critics, doubters, naysayers, and unapologetic haters who view him as an expendable overpaid underwhelming pseudo star whose acquisition is now serving as a roadblock for Dylan Harper getting the keys to the car. The player of the game dropped a cool, calm, and collected 28 points (a lion’s share of them during a furious second half comeback) along with seven assists, six rebounds, one steal and two incredible blocks to lead the Spurs to the largest halftime-to-final turnaround in NBA playoff history. Fox was at the controls for roughly 20 of the 24 second half minutes on Sunday orchestrating the high-octane explosion of dominant offensive execution that propelled us back from a 17 point halftime deficit to a 73-35 (+38) second half and a 21 point victory that puts us up 3-1 in the series heading back home for Game 5. Head Coach Mitch Johnson said in his postgame press conference that Game 4 against the Blazers “might have been his (DeAaron’s) best game as a Spur.” Do I wish our 2025-26 roster construction allowed for Dylan Harper to have a bigger role playing more minutes? Of course, I think every Spurs fan does. Nonetheless, it’s performances like the one De’Aaron had on Sunday that remind all fans across the “Fox is Great/Fox is Trash” spectrum (full transparency, I find myself pulled to both extremes from time to time but mostly hovering firmly left of middle) how integral he was to the team’s 28 game regular season improvement this season over last and how unquestionably vital he is to San Antonio having realistic postseason title ambitions way ahead of schedule. Part of what we brought him into our program for was to be a veteran leader who we could rely on to have ice in his veins during clutch playoff situations. It took him a little bit longer to get revved up than expected but as of our 114-93 Game 4 come-from-way-behind second consecutive first round road playoff victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, Swipa the Fox has arrived.
As dominant as De’Aaron and the offense were in the second half on Sunday, it takes more than one side of the ball to have a half where you outscore a playoff opponent by 38 points in 24 minutes. As mentioned above, Fox had two seemingly out of nowhere impressive blocks and a steal to add a little two-way spice to his epic performance. Of course, we can always rely on Stephon Castle to bring the pit bull point of attack perimeter defense. He did that effectively once again in Game 4 and while it didn’t necessarily translate to the box score (only one rebound and one steal), he played a role in limiting Scoot Henderson to an eye-popping ZERO points on 0-7 shooting in 27 minutes but more critically, his harassment of Deni Avdija got under the Blazer all-star’s skin culminating in a late sequence where Avdija was checking Steph on the perimeter (with obnoxious aggression haphazardly slapping his arms repeatedly trying to force a steal with Portland down 112 points and a little over two minutes left to make them up) and Steph drove right through him and got all the way to the basket for an “and one” layup. Being the good sportsman that he is, Castle politely handed the ball back to Deni so the Blazers could inbound under their own basket but or some reason, the Israeli small forward they call “Turbo” took exception to Steph’s kind gesture and shoved the 2024-25 Rookie of the Year for his troubles. Not being know as someone who is ever going to back down (and someone the likes of Avdija probably doesn’t want to mess with), Steph shoved him back resulting in double technicals. This about the point in a seven game series where we can expect the “who can get under the opponent’s skin enough to get them rattled” mind games to begin. Advantage Castle.
It goes without saying but, as well as the Spurs played defensively as a group in the second half of Game 4, there was one singular reason why the Blazers squandered their entire 17-point halftime lead within a matter of minutes and could only muster 35 second half points altogether. Welcome back, Victor Wembanyama. We didn’t get an alien sighting in the PNW on Friday night but we surely did on Sunday afternoon. Finally cleared on Sunday from concussion protocols, the greatest defensive force on the planet (perhaps the greatest defensive force in the history of the planet) was utterly breathtaking on that end of the court in the second half of Game 4. Wemby had 11 defensive rebounds, seven soul-crushing blocks and four back-breaking steals but that doesn’t tell the whole story because he completely discombobulated everything Portland wanted to do on offense. It was a masterclass by the 22-year-old. As if that weren’t enough insult to injury for the Moda Center crowd who (up 17) had just spent halftime making their Game 6 plans, Vic hit them on the other end with 27 points (9-17 from the field, 8-8 from the line), three assists, and one offensive rebound in the first 34 road playoff minutes of his career. It’s often said that, with a few rare exceptions, it’s proven to be a requirement for a team to have a first-team all-NBA super duper mega star to realistically have a shot at winning a championship. Well loyal readers, I’m happy to report…the #BlackAndSilver have one and then some.
With a commanding 3-1 lead in the series, the Spurs are back in San Antonio tonight to attempt to end the Portland Trail Blazers season at the Frost Bank Center. For a young group on their first playoff journey together, this will be another first. We have not yet experienced the desperation of a playoff team with their backs against the wall facing elimination as a group. I fully expect Deni Avjida, Scoot Henderson, and company to come out swinging and fight like their lives depend on it. I fully expect them to do everything in the power to get this series back to Oregon by stealing one tonight. Even though we’ve already had to play 1.75 games without our MVP candidate in this series, this will be the hardest game in the series thus far for us to win. Closeout games are always harder. That being said, if we come out focused and draw energy from another raucous crowd letting off more “seven years since we last made the playoffs” steam, we have an excellent opportunity to end the series and should have full confidence that this special group will get the job done and get some rest before the next round. The Denver Nuggets kept their season alive last night winning at home to cut Minnesota’s series lead to 3-2 and forcing at least a Game 6 for either of our potential second round opponents. That’s all I’ll say on the matter for now because you never want to look ahead when there’s still work to be done in the here and now. Tonight, we have an opportunity to punch our ticket to the Western Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2017. Tonight, we have the opportunity to show the world that our title contention window has arrived. Tonight, we have the opportunity to let ‘em know.
Featured Image Source: Pitchfork
Headline Image Source: Yahoo Sports
Deux de faits
2026 NBA Western Conference First Round, Game 3
The Guillotine - It’s an embarrassment of riches but one that I’m not the least bit embarrassed about. Was lottery luck an ingredient in our elite roster construction? Sure; but so was hitting on selecting quality players later in the draft, fleecing mismanaged franchises in one-sided trades, and making savvy free agent signings. Not to mention we’ve had all of these other ingredients other than luck in the pot before even factoring in that we’ve cooked and seasoned the stew with our second-to-none player development program. So, no; I’m not the least bit embarrassed that, even though we had the nearly unprecedented good fortune to have selected two, four, and one in the last three NBA drafts respectively, our squad is so deep and talented that we have the riches to witnesses two of our youngest players, a 20-year-old rookie and a 21 year-old sophomore, impose their will on a playoff game at a first team all-NBA level on a night where our actual first team all-NBA 22-year-old superstar watches the game from the bench in vibrant street clothes while still in the protocol for returning to action from a concussion. We’ve earned the right to not be embarrassed. You make your own luck. To quote a former (and probably future) pharmaceutical sales representative, “Fortune favors the bold.”
On Friday night in Rose City, the San Antonio Spurs (sans our franchise player) competed in the most hostile environment that most of our young core has ever experienced and past the test with flying colors boldly defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 120-108 to take a 2-1 lead in our Western Conference first round series and immediately snatch back the home court advantage that we’ve spent the past seven months earning. After learning less than 90 minutes prior to tip that Victor Wembanyama had been ruled out of Game 3, we knew we were going to need to buckle in for 48 minutes of grinding against a no-longer-overmatched gritty opponent. Tell the UFO hunters to stand down. There will be no sightings of an extraterrestrial doing otherworldly things against inferior earthlings in the PNW on this particular 60 degree pleasant Spring evening. But for any blood sport enthusiasts, you can tell them there will certainly be a dog fight.
The Blazers set the tone early in the first quarter but luckily, as his teammates struggled to get acclimated to the hostile road environment, Stephon Castle was more than willing to match Portland’s physicality and intensity. Steph bulldozed and bullied his way into the paint over and over again throughout the first half getting buckets or getting free throws or getting his teammates open looks, neutralizing the rowdy Portlandian hipster weirdos in the sellout crowd, and keeping the visitors in striking distance to the tune of 19 first half points and a tremendous amount of poise for a 21-year-old second-year player. (I tease our friends in Portland out of love. Portland is one of my favorite cities in the United States. I spend a lot of time there and know many amazing people who live there. I’m really happy they also have a competitive basketball team that is in the playoffs for the first time in a long time but since they ended up being our first round match up, a little lighthearted razzing over the next couple of weeks is fair game.)
While the 2024 NCAA Champion was the primary reason the Blazers (along with their raucous Moda Center crowd) were unable to create much double-digit separation in the first half, he had a running mate. (A running mate who he coincidentally just so happens to co-own a fast food chain with.) White Castle was in the building last night serving deliciously fresh responses to every Portland first half run (withstanding the expected desperation of an opponent who understands they need to seize this opportunity to grab another game with Wemby out) and getting us to the halftime locker room only down six, 65-59. Luke Kornet (as he has been so far this entire series) was as poised and effective on Friday night as you would expect someone who was a rotation player on a championship team two years ago to be during the April portion of the postseason. 20-5 as a starter this season heading into the game, Luke’s activity on both sides of the floor complimented Steph’s bully ball in keeping us close enough to prevent the first half Blazers avalanche that felt on a knife’s edge of beginning the entire first 24 minutes. Kornet even drained his first three pointer of the entire season with 10.2 seconds left in the first quarter. Clutch shot in a critical situation.
Coming out of the locker room to begin the second half, Portland continued to execute at a high level and their intensity did not relent. It was clear they understood their path to the second round went from “you might need to squint to see it” to relatively open the instant Victor’s face hit the hardwood on Tuesday evening but losing a non-Wemby home game could almost certainly not be a pit stop if they wanted to keep the path open. They played ferociously after the break building their six point lead to 15 when they led 82-67 with 5:09 left in the third. At this point in the game, I must admit, I was begrudgingly beginning to try to start to process the possibility that this may just not be our night and our group may not be capable of restoring order to this series until Wemby is able to rejoin it. But even though these thoughts were admittedly in my head, I still believed we had more than enough time to walk this game down. My faith may have wavered but it didn’t abdicate. I knew we just needed one player to inject some nuclear fusion into our offense and ignite the type of brilliant, electric explosion that could flip the game. And to my absolute unadulterated pleasure, on the very next possession… a star is born.
With 4:48 remaining in the third period of his third-career playoff game, Dylan Harper drained a corner three point dagger that detonated a fulmination so magnificent, those of us who witnessed it will never be able to fully remove the imprint of it from our retinas. Blazers lead 82-70. On the next Spurs possession, Harper pump faked and then drove right past Donovan Clingan and beat Deni Avdjia to the rim with force laying the ball up with his left hand on the right side of the bucket. Blazers 84-70. Later in the period he boarded a Drew Holiday missed corner three and went coast to coast to draw a foul on Jerami Grant. Although he split the free throws and missed a runner in the paint on the very next possession, It was clear his confidence was through the roof and he had the mindset required for one individual player to take over a playoff game. Blazers 84-78. With a minute and a half left in the frame, he cleverly swooped in to secure a lose ball that Scoot Henderson was in better position to grab (after Carter Bryant fumbled away his own offensive rebound) and fired it out to a wide open Keldon Johnson at the three point line. Bottoms. Blazers 85-81. (More on Keldon later.)
On the next possession, he was in position to grab the offensive rebound and go up strong off the glass for the put back when De’Aaron Fox smoked a layup off a baseline drive. Grown man bucket in the paint for the still-too-young-to-legally-be-served-alcohol-could-be-college-sophomore. Blazers 85-83. After Jerami Grant missed an elbow three on Portland’s next trip up the court, Dylan once again swooped in for a rebound that this time, Robert Williams was in a better position to grab and while attempting to ignite the break, drew a foul on Toumani Camara. And this time at the charity stripe, he drilled both free throws while also jawing with Camara throughout the sequence (presumably over the last foul call). Man, oh man, this is exhilarating. The number two overall pick in the NBA draft has the swagger to stand up to one of the toughest defenders in the entire league because, at the end of the day, in Dylan’s mind, “I already know you can’t guard me.” Tie ball game.
Now in the final minute of the frame, Scoot Henderson made a strong move on Harper for a layup (seemingly wanting to intentionally upstage the hottest player on the court) but, unable to resist involving himself in the extracurriculars started by Camara, immediately drew a technical for barking obnoxiously in Dylan’s face. After Julian Champagnie made the T and Fox nailed a cold-blooded jumper from the midrange, the Blazers had the last possession of the third. As the final seconds ticked down, an over-exuberant Henderson attempted to isolate Harper at the top of the key and drive him right. Off-balance, he could only muster a rushed floater which Dylan blocked into the front row with unapologetic utter disgusting disdain. 18-3 San Antonio run to end the third quarter fueled by a second-generation basketball prodigy. Spurs 88-87.
Portland in possession to begin the fourth quarter, Harper disrupted the first attempt, a Scoot(er McGavin) driving floater that missed so badly, Time Lord was gifted the rebound (a recurring theme in this series so far) that he fired right back to Henderson for an easy uncontested lay up. Not to be outdone in the budding duel, with Scoot guarding him, Harper lost contact with him floating to the corner as Fox was probing and drained another cold-blooded corner three in the eye of a rotating Holiday right in front of the Blazers bench before turning to remind them who was in control of this game. This kid’s dripping with moxie. Spurs 91-89. Gliding up the court in transition two possessions later, Dylan crossed over a six-time All-Defensive team honoree like he was hanging in Rio de Janeiro on holiday and then immediately spun back the other direction with the grace of a figure skater into a straight line drive for another crafty left-handed finish at the cup. We want to thank you for flying with us. Spurs 93-91.
After a mini-cold stretch during which the Blazers scored four straight to regain a two point lead on buckets by Shaedon Sharpe and Holiday, the February Kia Western Conference Conference Rookie of the Month was once again the fastest to a loose ball, tipping a shot that Julian had heaved from nearly half court in desperation with the shot clock running down over to Carter who hot potatoed it to Keldon who swung it right back to Dylan to raise up and drain yet another soul-snatching three over Holiday. We know you coulda stayed home, just cried and cussed. Spurs 96-95. Back down at the other end of the court, a quickly losing steam and clearly overmatched Scoot Henderson forced another erratic fadeaway in the paint (and realized in mid air he brought a water gun to a duel). Bryant easily blocked the shot without even leaving his feet. In true Jordanesque fashion, New Jersey’s finest was not done proving his point. With Henderson checking him in the right corner and the shot clock running down on our ensuing possession, Dylan Freaking Harper blew past “Scoot” driving baseline then rose like a phoenix on the right side of the rim sailing past Time Lord like he was frozen in place only to rock the cradle now on the left side of the rim and yam with the fury of a thousand suns and the contempt of man you should now and forever know you should never scorn right on William’s grille. Ladies and gentleman, your player of the game. We got the guillotine, you better run. Spurs 98-95.
Dylan Harper’s brilliant, electric explosion as a star had not just walked the game down, it chased the game down like a mall security guard with too big an ego over too pathetically small of an amount of power pursuing a teenage shoplifter like they had just committed felony aggravated robbery and officially flipped the game for good by the 8:13 mark of the fourth quarter, turning a 15 point deficit into a three point advantage. All told for Game 3, Harper had 27 points (9-12 from the field, 4-5 from three, and 5-6 from the line), 10 rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block with only one turnover and an eye popping team-high +25 in 30 minutes. With this performance Friday night, he became the second youngest player to score 20+ points off of the bench in an NBA playoff game (bested only by the late Kobe Bryant in 1997 at age 18) forever cementing his career-high scoring evening in basketball lore as “The Dylan Harper Game.”
Other players joined the 2025 second overall pick’s coming out party down the stretch to help seal the seemingly improbable #BlackAndSilver comeback victory. Stephon Castle, the leader in the clubhouse for player of the game at halftime, book-ended Dylan’s detonation by going on a personal 7-0 run immediately following Harper’s dunk over Time Lord to increase the Spurs advantage to double figures, 105-95, with six minutes left to play. Castle finished his stellar evening with 33 points (10-18 from the field, 3-4 from deep, and a critical 10-11 from the line), five assets, two rebounds, and a steal in 34 minutes. Combined, The Slash Brothers racked up a staggering 60 points (63% from the field, 78% from deep, 88% from the stripe), 12 rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and one block becoming the first duo 21 or younger to both score 25+ in an NBA playoff game since Kevin Durant and Russel Westbrook in 2010. Throw in the 18 points, six assists, and four rebounds De’Aaron Fox gave us in an uneven performance and you’re talking about 78 points, 16 rebounds, and 14 assists of production by San Antonio’s three-headed monster guard rotation. While our all-star guard didn’t deliver the '“carry the team on his back” performance I had called out in Un de moines we were going to need from him, he did hit some key “closer” buckets down the stretch to help seal the game and, to his credit, the threat he poses as a first option offensive weapon forced the Blazers to park Camara (their best defender) on him for almost the entire game which opened up the opportunities for Castle and Harper to cook lesser defenders all night.
Speaking of Stephon, White Castle combined for one more sick lob dunk down the stretch when Luke hammered down a Steph pass over the top of none other than “lord, did he have a hard time” Robert Williams to increase the Spurs lead to 13 with 4:43 left to play. Kornet finished his night with 14 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 30 minutes of action helping increase his record to 21-5 as a starter on the season. Carter Bryant, trusted by Coach Mitch Johnson to play key minutes down the stretch, came up with some big defensive plays in crunch time but had his highlight of the night earlier with a ridiculous step back three right smack dab in the middle of the Dylan Harper third quarter explosion. While our other 20-year-old rookie’s stat line of three points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks looks somewhat pedestrian in the box score, Bryant’s impact went well beyond what was quantifiable playing harassing, disruptive defense every second of every minute he was on the floor and serving as a small ball offensive hub at times en route to a second-only-to-fellow-rookie-Harper +17 during his highly impactful 23 minutes. Speaking of impactful contributions that didn’t necessarily pop out in the box score, I want to also give some shine to the heart and soul of the Spurs, Keldon Johnson. KJ only had five points, five rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in Game 3 but his relentless intensity and infectious energy were crucial to the comeback and indicative of why he deserved the magical moment he experienced just 48 hours earlier back in San Antonio.
On Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026, Keldon Johnson was named the 2025-26 NBA Sixth Man of the Year. (With the dark cloud of uncertainty surrounding Wemby’s injury, I didn’t want this incredible news to get overshadowed so even though I hadn’t yet finished the last Black & Silver post when I first heard about KJ’s career-redefining achievement, I decided to punt on highlighting it then so it could really be spotlighted under better circumstance i.e. hopefully following a Game 3 win. Glad that gamble worked out.) The longest-tenured Spur received the news watching the broadcast of the announcement at home surrounded by family and friends. He was summoned to The Rock at La Cantera later that afternoon to hold court with the media but upon arrival, he was surprisingly greeted by his teammates and coaches in the most heartwarmingly festive way imaginable. Yee haw! One of my favorite Spurs players since the minute he arrived in San Antonio as a 19-year-old late first round draft pick in 2019, I could not be more thrilled for the eclectic mixtape curating, boombox blasting ball of energy extroverted cowboy from South Hill, VA.
The fact that a former team leader in scoring for an entire season (2022-23) was willing to sacrifice for the good of the team by accepting a bench roll (as more and more bluechip talent was trickling into the roster) and now that sacrifice has been immortalized in the annals of NBA history is so freaking cool. Johnson joins hall-of-famer Manu Ginobili (2007-08) as the only San Antonio Spurs players to win the award. One of my favorite moments in Keldon’s career (to date) was when he scrapped and clawed his way onto the 2021 United States Olympic team roster at the last minute after some higher profile stars withdrew due to injury. Having been brought to Las Vegas during Team USA’s training camp to scrimmage against the Tokyo-bound squad as part of the USA Select team, Johnson all of a sudden got the unexpected call from USA + San Antonio Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich to get his ass on the plane with them at the very last possible minute. While only playing sparingly, KJ did have a role in winning Team USA’s fourth consecutive Olympic Gold and he got to do it right alongside the coach that was so instrumental to his development. Watching the two of them celebrate that accomplishment together was quite special. Seeing the love Johnson received from his teammates on Wednesday in honor of his highest individual career achievement was equally special. Now, Keldon can place his newly-earned John Havlicek Trophy on a mantle right next to his 2021 Olympic Gold Medal. (He might very well still add another prize to that mantle this summer.) Well done, KJ. I can’t imagine a player more deserving of this type of honor than you.
This afternoon, we’re back at it less than 40 hours after the conclusion of the Spurs’ biggest come-from-behind playoff victory since Game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals. Victor Wembanyama’s status for Game 4 is still unknown as I’m completing this post (just as it was on Friday) but the difference now is, rather than finding ourselves in the urgent position of needing to wrestle back control of the home court advantage for the series, we have the opportunity (with or without Victor) to march right back into the Moda Center and all but extinguish any hope of a Blazers series upset by stopping down all of the remaining light that this fun, scrappy, resurgent Portland season has provided to the Pacific Northwest through the aperture that is our state-of-the-art, magnificent, overwhelming, embarrassment of riches, jaw-dropping talent. If we play Game 4 this afternoon in an even more hostile environment but with same intensity, focus, and swagger that we played with on Friday night, our talent should ultimately overpower the opposition and win the day like it already has on 64 other prior occasions this campaign. Based on our winning percentage this season, there is a three out of four chance that my head will hit the pillow happy tonight. There’s been a great many similar nights these past seven months where I’ve drifted to sleep fully content while triumphant Wembanyama or Castle or Harper highlights are replaying in my mind showcasing the breath of our young core’s talent. It’s about the most effective sleeping medication a chronic insomniac could ask to be prescribed and one that I’ve been given a glutinous supply of this year. In case you’re wondering, I’m not the least bit embarrassed about it.
Video Source: ESPN Australia on YouTube
Featured Image Source: Mubi
Headline Image Source: NBASpurs on Reddit