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Portland Trail Blazers acting head coach Tiago Splitter opened Thursday’s playoff preparation with a clear message about the matchup ahead. “Of course Wembanyama is a big emphasis for us both offensively and defensively,” he said before Portland’s first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs.
Splitter described Victor Wembanyama as a problem unlike anything the Blazers saw in the regular season. “He’s a seven-five guy that can handle the ball, shoot, guard the rim, guard the perimeter,” he said, adding that Portland’s plan has to account for a player who “brings something different than other teams don’t have.”
Portland did not see Wembanyama in any of its three meetings with San Antonio this season, which makes film study even more important. “I think it’s good to watch some clips from other games and go through all the schemes,” Splitter said, before joking about his own approach: “I’ll probably be very soft on him. Let him score. Good idea.”
The Blazers are leaning on team defense and lineup flexibility as they enter the postseason. “I think every game is a team effort,” Splitter said. “Stay connected on offense. Share the ball, play together. It’s a big team effort on both ends of the court.”
He also pointed to the growth of Scoot Henderson, who has taken on a different role since returning. “He’s been great,” Splitter said. “Maybe he doesn’t have the ball as much as previous years but he’s doing excellent defensively. He’s getting better offensively playing off the ball, shooting the ball, driving.”
Splitter said Portland’s current structure has changed because of the pieces around Henderson and Deni Avdija. “With Deni the way Deni’s playing having the ball more and playing kind of like the PG and then having Scoot a little bit off the ball just playing with three ball handlers, taking care of the ball, being smart with the decisions of the type of shots we take,” he said.
The acting head coach said his first season on the bench has been a privilege, even with the added pressure of facing his former team. “First of all, it’s an honor to be a head coach in this league. It’s only thirty of them so I got to be grateful for that,” he said. “There is like a romantic feeling about it but that’s it. In the end of the day you’re going to go there, you’re going to compete and we want to beat them.”
Splitter also said his Spurs background shapes how he leads Portland. “The way he treats people make you feel like part of a family,” he said of Gregg Popovich. “Everybody got to be part of this.”
