Deni Avdija's first-ever playoff game was a personal triumph. With 30 points and 10 rebounds, he was the only player on Portland's roster besides Robert Williams to shoot above 50% from the field (12-of-21), and he went toe-to-toe with Victor Wembanyama for 48 minutes. He beat everyone in front of him - except the larger than life French superstar.

Blazers coach Tiagó Splitter had with a reasonable game plan. Toumani Camara, and later Jerami Grant, were tasked with guarding Wemby - essentially a 7'4" guard - while center Donovan Clingan covered (from distance) his former UConn teammate Stephon Castle and tried to plug the paint, allowing San Antonio's point guard to take his chances from the perimeter. The plan also called for heavy rotation, echoing Splitter's EuroLeague days in Paris, to maintain defensive intensity and push pace. Portland simply can't score enoug without running. There was also an effort to set screens on Wembanyama’s back on ball screens coverage to make it harder for him to drop back and contest shots.

The Spurs, of course, had a counter-plan for Avdija. Castle, one of the best on-ball defenders in the league, drew the assignment and did exactly what you'd expect - funneling Deni left at every opportunity, on and off ball screens. Later, Devin Vassell took a turn. And when Avdija found the lane, the French alien was often waiting. San Antonio couldn’t contain Avdija, but triumphed anyway. 

The difference came down to depth and maturity. On a night when Castle and Dylan Harper were ordinary, Dearon Fox stepped into the void - 17 points, eight assists, many of them off pick-and-roll with Luke Kornet, who came off the bench. Kornet, the veteran import from Boston, was San Antonio's real cheat code: in his minutes, the Spurs were plus-8, compared to plus-4 for Wembanyama.Equally important: San Antonio shot 45.5% from three, including a 5-of-6 night from Wemby.

Portland's shooting woes, a season-long companion, followed the Blazers to San Antonio. They finished 10-of-38 from deep. Outside of Scoot Henderson, the guards couldn't produce. Shaedon Sharpe is operating outside the offensive flow - too much dribbling, too many tough mid-range looks. Jrue Holiday (11.4% from three alongside 11 assists) shouldn't be an offensive anchor at this stage of his career. Toumani Camara, Grant, and Matisse Thybulle are 3-and-D pieces, each with different tools but limited self-creation. And Clingan looked exactly like most players his height and role look in their first playoff game: a non-factor.

What can Portland do from here? More of the same, mostly. They need to run and hope for a better shooting night - and Spurs’ coach Mitch Johnson will give them open looks (including some zone, which he deployed in the first half). For the Blazers to steal even one game, someone other than Avdija needs to step up - and that's assuming the optimistic scenario where the Israeli continues dropping 30 a night.

Watch Deni Avdija’s playbook from game 1. As usual, the actions Tiago Splitter uses to create space for his star player are relatively simple: ball screens, iso, pin-downs, and pistol actions. 

0:00 Iverson iso

 0:08 High ball screen

 0:16 Ghost chase handoff

 0:32 Pistol Handoff

 0:42 Pistol deny high flip ballscreen

 0:59 Pistol skip pindown (was supposed to be zoom spain)

 1:12 Slob weak pindown

 1:21 Slob double ghost