The Portland Trail Blazers are looking to end their four-game home losing streak against the San Antonio Spurs and may be getting more help to do so.

The Blazers announced that both Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III have been upgraded to questionable (although Deandre Ayton is now listed there due to an illness), and a solid center rotation would be helpful against a future All-NBA talent in Victor Wembanyama .

Portland Trail Blazers (8-16) vs. San Antonio Spurs (12-12) – Fri. Dec. 13 – 7 p.m. Pacific

How to watch via antenna or cable: Check out your options on the Rip City Television Network

How to watch via streaming: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass everywhere else

Trail Blazers injuries: Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams III, Deandre Ayton (questionable); Duop Reath (doubtful); Matisse Thybulle (out)

Spurs injuries: Stephon Castle, Keldon Johnson, Zach Collins, Tre Jones (out)

The Spurs are an average team: They’re midfield in offense, defense, rebounding, pace… name a statistical category and you’ll find that the Spurs are aggressively unremarkable.

Even though Chris Paul is in his (approximately) 63rd NBA season, he is still effective in his roughly 30 minutes per game and has attempted even more three-pointers each year since 2019, his last in Houston. And while Victor Wembanyama hasn’t had the convincing meteoric rise that some expected after his rookie season, he’s better: he stays on the court a little longer (from 29 to 32 minutes per game) and has his Effective field goal percentage decreased 51.9% to 56.5%. How? It’s simple: Last year he shot 33% of his shots from deep. This year it’s half that. Yes, the man who is 6-foot-2 and longer than almost anyone who has ever played the game only takes half of his shots from inside.

Without both Stephon Castle and Keldon Johnson, the Spurs are about 50 minutes per game short of rotation minutes. If the Blazers get reinforcements in the form of Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III, it will be a fair fight. If not – especially if they are also missing both Duop Reath and Deandre Ayton – Spurs (and Wembanyama in particular) may need to reconsider drifting so far towards the arc and instead take their play inside where they will encounter little to no resistance.

Reader questions

Before most games, we ask all of you to improve our preview by asking us questions! Look out for posts like this to add your questions and have them (possibly) answered right here in these previews!

From Ronchez:

Will the Blazers play well for two or more quarters or will it be a bust?

Clingan and Williams are competitors, and I’m one of those people who believes competition on the court is increasing. If both play, I think we’ll see a spirited game from Portland. If they don’t, I don’t think we will.

From RedUniInLA:

Will Wemby’s thin bones break against the mountain of low-post bangers, Donovan Clingan?

Wembanyama’s frame may be thin, but it’s bamboo thin, not spaghetti noodle thin. The guy is strong and flexible. I love Cling Kong, but I’m not convinced he’s a Wemby stopper now or ever will be. However, I would like to be wrong!

From conspirator5:

How is Jeremy Sochan doing now that he is no longer forced to reach the point?

Better! I won’t pretend to watch the Spurs closely, but the numbers suggest his shooting has improved compared to Wembanyama for the opposite reason: Sochan is now shooting 54% of his shots from 0-3 as a power forward feet, compared to 33% last year. Therefore, it’s no surprise that his FG% has increased from 43.8% to a whopping 50%. He’s not a three-point shooter and may never be, so it’s been helpful that his offense comes from places where he can actually do something useful.

From LeftCoaster25:

The Spurs are currently a .500 team. Are they on their way to a real title fight? What are they missing?

Yes, just not in the foreseeable future. Things are different when you have a star from a young generation. You can credibly say you’ve done the most important thing by getting your alpha, and now have the luxury of moving other pieces around that player. The Spurs are still at the beginning of their construction. You need functional depth. You need 2A and 2B stars. If Chris Paul were a dozen years younger, they’d be halfway there. As much as Wemby wants to win now, they are currently years and many steps away from being in the conversation like Oklahoma City, but the vision for them is wonderfully simple.

From TheLongHotWinter:

Did I pay too much to get a Sc00t glass and see Wemby?

No. These glasses are awesome. And seeing Wembanyama in person will be a pleasure regardless of the outcome of the game. Consider yourself lucky!

By Keith Feltner Smith:

A whopping 52 players have played for both the Blazers and Spurs… Pick your favorite among these five players (and the other four to avoid): LaMarcus Aldridge, Patty Mills, Andre Miller, Zach Collins, Jerome Kersey .

Why do I have to avoid them? For better or worse, I’ve never been much of an “avoid” type… Sometimes I get angry, but I’m almost always willing to work with others and make things right. Still, I’ll take the question at face value and pick one, and it’ll be Jerome Kersey with a bullet. Yes, LaMarcus was the better player and Miller had the better unexpected dunk (not to mention Blake Griffin’s legendary cargo training)…

…but it’s Kersey. As the lynchpin of the Blazers of the late ’80s and early ’90s, the only Blazers team in my lifetime that had sustained success at a competitive level, I don’t think one can write about the team’s history without him. No offense to LMA, but he chose to move to Texas rather than cement his legacy in Portland. Since he never achieved any significant success in the postseason, he is already being forgotten.

What you should pay attention to:

Centers… It’s the centers, right? Especially with Donovan Clingan playing? The Blazers have been everywhere this season: That’s not a pointer, but an observation. In a year like this, it’s difficult to identify team-wide trends that are characterized by anything lasting and lasting. So it’s probably better to look at the player level and pay attention to individual development where you can see it. And I can’t think of a better Blazer than Donovan Clingan… especially when, like Wemby, he’s up against elite competition at his position.

About the opponent:

Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News writes about Spurs interim coach Mitch Johnson filling in for the legendary Gregg Popovich after a stroke in early November, and how Johnson is finding his own path despite the interim title:

The more time Fields spent with Johnson, the more he realized something else. This kid knew more about the Xs and Os of basketball than anyone Fields knew, including some of his coaches. Watching NBA games with Johnson back then was like looking into a crystal ball. He could often predict what would happen on a possession before it even began. “When he talked about basketball, I learned not to discuss him,” Fields said. “I would always lose.”

Fields remembers an NCAA Tournament game against Marquette in 2008 when Johnson had the Golden Eagles all but figured out. Johnson repeatedly prepared star center Brook Lopez for hook shots from the left block. Lopez had 30 points and Johnson had 16 assists. With the game on the line in overtime, Johnson again managed to score the game-winning goal for Lopez with three seconds left. “He just had the ability to see any gap on the floor,” Fields said.

Dusty Garza wrote for NEWS4SA about Spurs rookie guard Stephon Castle and how the Spurs have found cohesion despite absences and injuries – including to himself:

The Spurs went through an ever-changing rotation this season, with injuries and player returns leading to constant adjustments. Castle has become a key figure in that mix and he relishes the opportunity to build chemistry with his teammates. “We’re definitely finding a rhythm,” Castle noted. “Certain lineups are starting to click and it’s exciting to think about what we’ll look like when everyone’s healthy.” Castle also emphasized the team’s focus on defense, an area that has seen early success in However, it has fallen behind in recent weeks. “Defense was our identity early on and it brought us many victories. It’s gotten a little weaker lately, so we’re trying to go back to what worked – better rotations, building a wall in transition and reducing turnovers.”