Suffice it to say, the San Antonio Spurs are a different team when Victor Wembanyama is off the floor. Wemby, the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year award winner, sustained a concussion on a hard fall during the second quarter of the Spurs 106-103 Game 2 loss to Portland Tuesday night. The Spurs versus Blazers NBA Playoffs first round series is now tied, 1-1, as the series shifts to Portland.
Wembanyama is in the NBA’s concussion protocol, but he traveled with the Spurs to Portland, with Game 3 on tap for Friday night and Game 4 set for Sunday afternoon in the City of Roses. Below, we will deliver an injury update, and the latest information on when Wembanyama is expected to return to the Spurs lineup.
When will Victor Wembanyama return and be back in the Spurs lineup?
Wemby has not yet been ruled out for Game 3 Friday night. The Spurs superstar is currently listed as questionable.
It takes most NBA players 7-10 days to return from a concussion.
The league’s concussion protocol rules are quite vague, as they mostly operate on a case-by-case basis.
The rules note that “there is no timeframe to complete the [return to participation exertion] process. Each injury and each player is different and recovery time can vary in each case.”
The protocol rules do state that a player cannot return to full participation for 48 hours after the time of the injury but can resume gradual activity after 24 hours as long as the symptoms don’t worsen.
Wemby did participate in some light cardiovascular activity late Wednesday, which leads one to believe he is on track to return in either Game 3 or Game 4.
"To my knowledge, we haven't even had that discussion [about ruling Wembanyama out]," Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said. "The protocol is the protocol. The league is who's mostly at the top of that. We'll just hope that he continues to progress. Whenever that timing is, that's when it will be.
"We’ll just kind of keep going through the protocol, and hopefully he continues to progress. It's pretty straightforward. So obviously we hope he'll be back at some point. But we'll allow the protocol to play out. There's nothing more important than his health."
Here is a look at the upcoming schedule for the Spurs:
- Friday, April 24: Spurs at Trail Blazers Game 3
- Sunday, April 26: Spurs at Trail Blazers Game 4
- Tuesday, April 28: Trail Blazers at Spurs Game 5
- Thursday, April 30: Spurs at Trail Blazers Game 6*
- Saturday, May 2: Trail Blazers at Spurs Game 7*
- Monday, May 4: Potential start of Western Conference semi-finals*
*If necessary
Victor Wembanyama odds
Wemby props for Game 3 are currently available to bet on at Fanatics Sportsbook. The Frenchman’s points Over/Under is currently set at 24.5 with juice on the Over.
His rebounds O/U for Game 3 is set at 11.5 with juice on the Under. Three blocks or more for Wemby is priced at -140. Four blocks or more is priced at +160.
Wemby has a prominent spot on Fanatics’ NBA Finals MVP odds board as he is +600 to win. Only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has better odds (-120).
San Antonio Spurs odds
The Spurs are currently -2.5 Game 3 road favorites over the Trail Blazers at Fanatics. San Antonio is -140 on the moneyline.
The Spurs have one of the better against the spread records in the league at 47-36-2.
San Antonio is currently +650 to win the NBA title.
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