The San Antonio Spurs blew a chance to take a 3-1 series lead over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday when they lost Game 4 of their second-round playoff series, 109-114, at the Target Center.
Spurs phenom Victor Wembanyama was ejected early in the second quarter after hitting Timberwolves big man Naz Reid with a blatant elbow to the neck while trying to secure the ball. De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper all stepped up in Wemby’s absence, and the Spurs gave a good fight.
However, the absence of their best player was too much to overcome in the end. According to ESPN’s Chris Canty, Sunday’s loss showed a flaw in San Antonio’s roster.
“If you’re Briant Wright or if you’re Mitch Johnson, the head coach for San Antonio, why the hell don’t you have somebody out there that’s an enforcer to protect Victor Wembanyama. Every team in the history of basketball that has had a dominant big man has had a power forward that is out there cruisin’ for bruisin’. Go back to the Lakers in the 80s’s with Kareem Abdul Jabbar. They had Kurt Rambis. What do you think Kurt Rambis was out there for?” said Canty.
The Spurs don’t have an enforcer on their team
Canty is right about enforcers protecting bigs. The Knicks had Anthony Mason and Charles Oakley to play alongside Patrick Ewing. L.A. also had Ron Artest for Pau Gasol. But it’s not just bigs. Michael Jordan had Dennis Rodman, while Isiah Thomas had Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn. Dwyane Wade had Udonis Haslem. And so on.
Meanwhile, the Spurs have an overload of guards and wing players — Fox, Castle, Harper, Julian Champagnie, Keldon Johnson, Devin Vassell, and Harrison Barnes. However, they don’t have a big bruiser to protect Wemby on the basketball court.
“You’re sitting there at the podium, telling everybody what you already know, but you didn’t have an answer for the question. You didn’t have the answers for the test. He’s 7’5″, how is anybody going to stop him? They can’t. The only person who can stop Victor Wembanyama is Victor Wembanyama. And last night he stopped himself,” he added.
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Minnesota had Wemby frustrated
The Wolves have no answer for Wembanyama, especially in Game 3, where he shot 13-18 from the field while scoring 39 points and pulling down 15 rebounds. They have tried to be very physical against him, in an effort to make Victor beat himself by getting frustrated.
In one of the two games in San Antonio, Reid even shoved Wembanyama to the floor, but he did not react. In Game 4, Naz and Jaden tried to get in his head again — they were successful, baiting him to lose his cool and swing his elbow.
“I just think that the amount of physicality people play with him, at some level, you have to protect yourself.. At some stage, he should be protected, and if not, he’s going to have to protect himself,”said Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson in the post-game press conference.
As Canty said, it shouldn’t be Wemby protecting himself from the opponent’s physicality, because it’s going to cost the Spurs. But right now, they don’t have that guy on their team. Maybe it can be Kelly Olynyk, Mason Plumlee, or even Bismack Biyombo. But they’re not a regular part of the rotation. Regardless of how this season ends, having that enforcer should be the Spurs’ priority this offseason.
Related: “They the new grit-and-grind” – Paul Pierce challenges Victor Wembanyama to match the Wolves’ physicality
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
