Wemby Went Down Hard in Game 2 After Jrue Holiday Pulled the Chair and Now He’s in Concussion Protocol
If you were watching the Spurs-Blazers game Tuesday night, you already know what I’m talking about. Everybody else, buckle up, because this one was tough to watch.
Second quarter, Spurs down 34-32, Victor Wembanyama catches the ball in the post with Jrue Holiday guarding him. Wemby goes to spin and attack the rim, and right as he turns the corner, Holiday straight up pulled the chair on him. For anybody who doesn’t know, pulling the chair is an old-school move where the defender just steps back right when the offensive guy is leaning into him. You lose your balance, you fall. Simple physics.
Problem is Wemby is 7’5″ in shoes. That’s a long way down. He went face-first into the hardwood, his chin cracked the court, and he stayed down for a minute. When he tried to get up, he was clearly woozy. Sat back down. Eventually walked to the locker room on his own but you could tell something wasn’t right.
The Spurs ruled him out pretty quick. After the game, Shams reported what everybody feared: concussion. He’s officially in concussion protocol now, which is a whole process. He’s gotta sit for at least 24 hours with no symptoms, then pass a bunch of tests, then get cleared by both the team doctors and the league doctors. Most guys are out 5 to 7 days with this stuff. Some guys it’s longer.
Game 3 is Friday in Portland. Game 4 is Sunday. Game 5 is back in San Antonio on Tuesday. You do the math on that. There is basically zero chance Wemby plays Friday, and Sunday is a stretch too. Tuesday is the real target if everything goes right.
What this means for the Spurs
Bad news all around. San Antonio was cruising after that Game 1 beatdown where Wemby dropped 35 in three quarters and looked like the best player on the planet. Now they’re tied 1-1 heading to Portland and their franchise guy might miss the next two games minimum.
Here’s a small silver lining though. San Antonio actually went 2-1 against Portland in the regular season without Wemby on the floor. So it’s not like they can’t compete. Luke Kornet came in when Wemby went down and they had a chance to win the game. Spurs had a 14-point lead late in the fourth quarter. They just couldn’t close it. That’s on everybody else, not the kid on the floor with the concussion.
Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox are gonna have to carry even more load. Julian Champagnie has to hit shots. Kornet and Charles Bassey need to hold down the paint against Robert Williams and Donovan Clingan. It can be done. It’s just a lot harder without the guy who broke records in Game 1.
The Holiday play — was it dirty?
This is the part fans are arguing about on Twitter all morning. Some people are saying Holiday pulled a dirty move and should get fined. Other people are saying it’s a legit veteran play and Wemby just fell awkward because of how tall he is.
I’ll give you my take. Pulling the chair is legal. It’s been a move forever. Chris Paul made a career out of it. The problem is when you do it to a dude who’s three inches taller than anybody in the league, the fall is way worse. Holiday didn’t do anything different than what defenders have always done. Wemby just has a lot more ground to cover on the way down.
That said, Jrue has got to feel awful today. That’s not the kind of play you want to be responsible for, even if it was technically clean. He’s a vet, he knows the code, he’d never try to hurt anybody. Sometimes basketball plays just go bad.
The real worry
Forget Game 3. Forget this series. The bigger concern for Spurs fans is the long-term stuff. Wemby already had that scary blood clot situation last year that ended his season early. Now a concussion. Dude is 22 years old, he’s the future of the sport, and he’s had two separate scary medical things in 12 months. Everybody just wants him to get healthy and stay healthy.
Take your time, big fella. Basketball can wait.
