dailyloe.com – The San Antonio Spurs will face the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2026 Western Conference first-round NBA playoffs. The second-seeded Spurs play the seventh-seeded Trail Blazers starting Sunday, April 19. This matchup is unexpected after both teams improved their win totals from the previous season. The Spurs won the regular-season series two games to one.
San Antonio jumped from 34 victories last season to 62 wins this year. Portland increased its win total from 36 to 42 victories under acting head coach Tiago Splitter. Splitter took over the Trail Blazers early in the season. The Spurs won their final regular-season meeting 112-101 on April 8.
Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle did not play in that April 8 game for San Antonio. The series marks Wembanyama’s first NBA playoff appearance. In his third season, Wembanyama was special enough for Kia MVP consideration.
He is in outstanding position to win his first Defensive Player of the Year Award. Wembanyama averaged 25 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks this season. He shot 51.2% from the field and 34.9% on three-pointers.
The Spurs are elite with Wembanyama on the court. They score 120.5 points per 100 possessions with him playing. They allow only 103.6 points per 100 possessions for a plus-17 net rating.
Those stats drop to 114.3 points scored and 113.7 points allowed without him. The net rating falls to plus-0.6 when the 22-year-old star sits. How will that translate in his first playoff series?
How does the seemingly unflappable Wembanyama handle a best-of-seven series? This Spurs playoff team is not coached by Gregg Popovich. A historian must look back to the late 1990s for a similar instance.
That changes with this Spurs series against the Trail Blazers. Keep your eyes on Mitch Johnson. The series schedule begins with Game 1 in San Antonio.
Game 1 is on Sunday, April 19 at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. It will air on NBC and Peacock. Game 2 is on Tuesday, April 21 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Game 3 shifts to Portland on Friday, April 24 at 10:30 p.m. ET. That game will air on Prime Video. Game 4 is in Portland on Sunday, April 26 at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Game 5 would be in San Antonio on Tuesday, April 28 if necessary. Game 6 would be in Portland on Thursday, April 30 if needed. A potential Game 7 would be in San Antonio on Saturday, May 2.
The teams met three times in the regular season. San Antonio won 115-102 on November 26. Portland won 115-110 on January 3.
The Spurs then won 112-101 on April 8 to take the season series. The playoffs will test San Antonio’s elite offense and defense. Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs are ready for that test against Portland.
