The Western Conference Finals are deadlocked at 1-1 in what’s shaping up to be a classic series. It’s appointment viewing for hardcore hoop heads because it’s two 60+ win teams with one side having the MVP (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) and the other having the next face of the league, who is averaging 31 points and 20.5 rebounds (Victor Wembanyama).

 

Coach Mitch Johnson didn’t have an immediate update after Game 2 on Dylan’s Harper’s status. Harper is currently questionable for Friday’s outing. Additionally, Jalen Williams’s hamstring injury is somehow being treated as day-to-day by the OKC Thunder.

 

With the next two games in San Antonio, there’s a few things the Spurs could try to help take control of the series. Let’s review. 

 

Keldon Johnson needs more minutes

 

Keldon Johnson’s strength allows him to have success against bigger OKC players at close range. Keep in mind that all five of his rebounds in Game 2 were offensive.

 

The role of sixth man is important, but he is better than a 24-minute player in a high-stakes series. He can create his own shot and handle physicality better than Julian Champagnie, who should not be playing more than 27 minutes, but has to now if De’Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper are out for Game 3.

 

Consider how the lineup featuring Devin Vassell, Stephon Castle, Victor Wembanyama with Champagnie and Johnson has been one of their best in the playoffs, logging an excellent 105 defensive rating in 10 minutes. It’s never a bad idea to lean hard on the defense and while this unit hasn’t been tested for long spurts in the playoffs, it could turn into an ace in coach Johnson’s sleeve: it has two ball handlers, two snipers who can guard and a demigod.

 

The non-Wemby minutes

 

Luke Kornet played an important role in being the team’s reserve big man this seasion, yet it’s ideal to limit his minutes, potentially to less than the 10 he’s averaging. The Thunder are a bad matchup for him, and insist on attacking his weaknesses through screen rolls. 

 

There’s two solutions: use veteran Harrison Barnes as the backup center, which would bring in the threat of an accurate release valve who can guard up. A double would have to come to help depending on how deep his matchup catches an inside pass, but this must be considered since he can play at the level of the screen better than Kornet. 

 

Then there’s Carter Bryant, the extremely athletic and strong perimeter pest. He’s age 20, but like Harper, shouldn’t be looked at as a rookie anymore since they’ve lapped their peers in experience. Bryant can do all the things Barnes does defensively as a small-ball five at a higher level.  

 

Castle needs to cut down on turnovers 

 

The team is averaging 22 turnovers, and Castle is responsible for 10 per game. The Spurs are in a tricky situation here because De’Aaron Fox (ankle) is also questionable on the injury report. Assuming Fox and Harper don’t play, Castle has to step up with his ball security by not recklessly passing and driving into traffic.

 

Consider how the Thunder are only averaging 12 fastbreak points per game. The Spurs can be even sharper in getting back if they play with less mistakes.

 

Yet most importantly, they need to be cut down so Wemby has as many opportunities as possible with the ball. As much as pick-and-pop plays are useful, Castle needs to get him the ball closer to the rim in half-court actions so he doesn’t work as hard. In Game 2, the first shot Wemby took starting his offense inside the arc was in the third quarter, and nearly all of his possessions started from the outside. 

 

Perhaps Castle will make easier passes if Wemby is put in more motion.

 Despite the Orlando Magic blowing a 3-1 lead to the Detroit Pistons in round one of the playoffs, the New Orleans Pelicans found their new head coach in recently fired Jamahl Mosley. They clearly like him because they gave him a fifth year in his contract, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.

 

At the very least, Mosley established he is a gateway coach that will help legitimize a team. The Magic were not as defensively potent this season as they were in 2024 and 2025 (second ranked in both), but some of that is on the injuries to key players and a bit of the message going stale after a while. 

 

One thing he will demand more out of the team is commitment on defense, especially from Zion Williamson in screen rolls and in small lineups. As the playoffs have shown, teams need to be able to bang with the big boys at close range because versatile size is king. 

 

The Pelicans have more talent than the typical 26-win team, yet they play in the superior conference and do not have a first-round draft pick this season, as it was owed to Atlanta. A good year in 2026-27 would be reaching the first round of the playoffs, whether by going through the Play-In Tournament or not. Those are only modest expectations because it’s hard to expect more when the ultra-talented Williamson has logged at least 60 games thrice since 2019-20. If he, who is going into his eighth season (well, seventh because he didn’t play in2021-22 due to injury), can change the narrative on his health, the Pelicans have a chance to be more than a respectable team early. 

 

Keep in mind that the Pelicans were only the seventh seed in 2024 with 49 regular-season wins. The Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns (before the Play-In Tournament) in the following years were the seventh seed with 48 and 45 wins.

 

Notably, the area Mosley’s teams needed an upgrade is the offense because they didn’t have enough movement, passing and screening. Hiring some different minds for his assistants could alleviate some of those issues, yet he also needs to improve the same way it’s expected of players. 

 

It will be the area he is judged most critically, and he at least has to have the team be better than the 11th-ranked attack since that was the best it was during the Willie Green era. The next area of importance will be the development of the youngsters such as Jeremiah Fears, Yves Missi, Derik Queen. 

 

Mosley has a great agent in Bret Just of WME Basketball for getting him a gig where he doesn’t have to start over from the basement. Now it’s on him to show he was the guy and not just the best name available on the coaching market.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are still the team to beat on their quest for back-to-back titles, even with Jalen Williams hamstring injury keeping him absent so far, but the San Antonio Spurs are reaching for the throne. The upcoming clash between the regular season’s top-two Western powers will begin on Monday in OKC.

 

They played five times before the playoffs, which included an NBA Cup game, with the Spurs winning four of them, but considering how the physicality has been raised 80° since, it’s hard to use those games to gauge which team has the advantage.

 

Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony imparted his wisdom in his interview with D.J. Siddiqi on these matters, saying, “ “Regular season doesn’t mean anything right now. It’s a different brand of basketball. I know people want to put one up against the other, but it’s a different brand of basketball. Nobody’s even thinking about regular season once you’re in the playoffs.”

 

Another thing the Hall of Famer is sure about is that great players can’t be shut down. Much of that has to do with the rules favoring the offensive player since hand checks are outlawed and carrying violations are not always enforced, which is a huge disadvantage for the man back peddling. Nonetheless, when it comes to Victor Wembanyama, the challenge is making it difficult for him for “48 minutes.”

 

The Thunder will try but, Wembanyama‘s height and passing gifts make him a threat to dissect double teams. That’s a lethal combination with three high-level ball handlers that eat up schemes at the point of attack. The challenge gets tougher since he is a good roamer without the ball behind the arc and on the baseline. He’s shown he can be dormant while he waits for his teammates to get going, then he turns into a supernova.

 

Guarding Wemby presents even more problems because he can dribble up court, and pull up from long range. Setting early pick up points against that are not the same as sending them at someone like Kevin Durant, who is still close to seven feet, but not skyscraper big.  The playoffs have made it clear that using bully-ball to bother Wembanyama gets canceled out by his length.

 

On the other side, one thing the Thunder could try is to make Wembanyama work by limiting Isaiah Hartenstein’s minutes on the floor with him. While Hartenstein has a nice jump hook from the short to mid range area, Wembanyama can complicate things for OKC by sagging off to the middle like he did against Portland and Minnesota successfully. If Chet Holmgren is playing center, it will force Wembanyama to guard a real scoring option.

 

As the stakes rise with each round and coverages get tighter, this could be a tough series for Luke Kornet because he is a slower-footed disruptor, most ineffective outside of the lane. It’s not what the Spurs want to do, but this could mean Wemby playing close to 40 minutes a game because he’s a much stronger against screen rolls, especially if they are coming from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

 

Anthony said Wembanyama is the best defender in the NBA — it helps that he’s got major help because opposing ball handlers have a quality disruptor switched on to them at every turn. Still, the Thunder are capable of matching San Antonio’s defensive potency and bring their own edge to that side.

 

All of the talent featured in this Western Conference Finals could create a classic series that will be remembered for decades. Make no mistake: this series will be the equivalent of two heavyweights facing off in a title eliminator. 

 

The NBA probably doesn’t have the stones to suspend Victor Wembanyama for viciously and intentionally elbowing Naz Reid in the throat, but they should. His good reputation will help his case, but chief disciplinarian James Jones has to make sure his penalty is more than a fine because there was potential for catastrophic damage and a big brawl.

 

It was the biggest elbow thrown in the NBA since Metta World Peace (now Metta Sandiford-Artest) brutalized James Harden in 2012 with a strike to the dome. MWP got suspended for seven games.

 

Thank goodness Reid is OK, but if that elbow had flown higher, we could be talking about a fractured jaw with teeth on the court, or a broken orbital bone. It doesn’t matter that Wembanyama was being held and fouled hard because he overreacted.

 

Had he stayed in the game, there’s a good chance the San Antonio Spurs would have taken a 3-1 lead. Anthony Edwards had to go HAM, scoring 16 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter. Now the Minnesota Timberwolves remain dangerous as the series shifts back to San Antonio for Game 5. Keep in mind that the winner of a Game 5 when both teams are tied at 2-2 advances 81.5 percent of the time.

 

Naturally, some will jump to this reality: if it were Draymond Green, he’d get suspended, like he was for one game in the 2023 playoffs, among many occasions, for stomping on Domantas Sabonis’ ribs, after his ankle was held.

 

Wemby waited at the bench for a referee review and appeared to not know the rule, making an ejection mandatory for a Flagrant Two.

 

It’s a decision that will have huge consequences for the series, and no way both teams will be satisfied. Still, the league shouldn’t create any impression that they are soft on hostile acts because things could backfire with more elbows or fisticuffs flying. 

 

As for Wemby, some opponents will back off because he means business when you get rough with him, but others will test his limits to see if he loses his head in an another important game.  

 

Update

Wembanyama was not suspended, nor did he receive a fine. Clearly, preferential treatment was shown. Hard to imagine that Jones would have demonstrated the same lack of discipline if someone had elbowed the NBA’s new golden goose in the throat.