Spurs Notes: Wembanyama, Harper, Barnes, Fox

Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama was diagnosed with a concussion after taking a scary fall to the court in the second quarter of Tuesday’s Game 2 loss to Portland, but there’s no indication he sustained any additional injuries on top of that. Head coach Mitch Johnson said as much during his post-game media session and a pair of team officials confirmed it, per Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News (Bluesky link).

Still, it’s little solace that Wembanyama suffered “just” a concussion, given how tricky they can be to manage. According to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News (subscription required), the average absence for a concussion is about seven-to-10 days, per the NBA’s injury tracking data, which would mean the Defensive Player of the Year would miss at least Games 3 and 4 — and potentially more than that.

For his part, Wembanyama is hopeful of beating that timeline. Appearing on NBA Today on Wednesday (Twitter video link), ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the third-year star reported to the Spurs’ facility today and is aiming to travel with the team to Portland on Thursday, though that has yet to be determined. According to Charania, the Spurs and Wembanyama are “taking this very much day by day” and his status for Friday’s Game 3 remains up in the air.

As McDonald writes, Wembanyama’s teammates know they have to be prepared to do a better job without him than they did down the stretch on Tuesday, when they blew a 14-point fourth-quarter lead.

“We all got to step up,” swingman Devin Vassell said. “We know what Vic brings to the table and we’ve played without him a couple of games this year. That’s huge void to fill.”

Here’s more on the Spurs:

• Wembanyama wasn’t the only Spur to suffer an injury on Tuesday, but the expectation is that guard Dylan Harper and forward Harrison Barnes will be ready for Game 3, per Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News (subscription required). Harper aggravated the left thumb injury he suffered during the Spurs’ regular season finale, while Barnes sustained a shoulder stinger as the result of a collision with Portland center Donovan Clingan. “Usually it’s ice,” Harper said of the treatment he’ll undergo before Friday’s game. “That’s about it. You can’t really do much with the thumb. Just kind of preserve it. Not really use it as much.”
• If Wembanyama misses time, the Spurs will need more from their highest-paid player, De’Aaron Fox, McDonald writes for the Express-News (subscription required). Fox scored 17 points on Tuesday, but he had nearly as many turnovers (three) as assists (four) and was 6-of-16 from the floor, including 1-of-6 in the fourth quarter. San Antonio was outscored by 14 points during his 34 minutes of action.
• The Spurs held their own defensively after Wembanyama exited Game 2, but their offense fell apart down the stretch, going 0-for-7 with a pair of turnovers in the final 3:37, as Orsborn details (subscription required). Johnson and the Spurs suggested after the game that wasn’t just about missing Wembanyama — Johnson lauded Portland’s defense and suggested his young team learned an important lesson about the level required to win a tight playoff game. “It looked like there was a level of fatigue there that kicked in just in terms of the intensity of the game and some of the output in minutes that guys had to play,” the Spurs’ coach said. “And that’s a playoff game. That’s what it’s going to feel like. And I think there’s a lot to learn.”