For better or worse, Victor Wembanyama's Game 4 ejection changed complexion of the series — and his first playoff arc

The fact that San Antonio was within striking distance in the fourth quarter — much less even holding a lead with less than six minutes remaining — is a testament to Johnson and his staff, having seen and solved the Wemby-less problem before; treading water during the regular season and breaking the dam open in the playoffs, outscoring opponents by 27 points in nearly 350 possessions. But by the same token, Minnesota’s willingness to attack the paint on a constant loop was a clear byproduct of the absence of the very large man. The Wolves scored 14 points in the paint in the final 12 minutes and finished with 50 in total, a sizable uptick from Games 2 and 3, where they finished with 36 and 38 points in the paint, respectively. Wembanyama’s absence was so stark that Minnesota’s 39% rim rate — 80th percentile of playoff games thus far — was 10% more frequent than how often it had wandered into the restricted area in this series, higher than its rim frequency against Denver and higher than its season-long output. That the Wolves also won the rebounding battle with Rudy Gobert (13) finishing with more than double of any Spurs starter was another indication of the lack of fear.

“It’s largely the same,” Wolves head coach Chris Finch said of their approach once Wembanyama was sent off. “Keep trying to go downhill, keep trying to make the defense react and make the right play. Not a lot changed there. Reid did a really good job screening, I thought he was outstanding and freed up a lot of good offense.”

The issue for the Spurs, although this still remains a best-of-3 series with home-court advantage, is that they failed to take full advantage of a wounded opponent. The Wolves were already without key guard Donte DiVincenzo, and superstar Anthony Edwards, dealing with multiple knee ailments, was clearly hobbled throughout Game 4. But Edwards’ huge final act, a tidy 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting in the fourth quarter, unveiled a potential issue for San Antonio. The veteran wing could be heard on multiple occasions via the broadcast working through the Spurs’ attempts to take him off the ball by trapping or doubling, opening up opportunities for others to create offense and manipulate the aggressive defense. When Edwards saw weaknesses, he alerted the coaching staff and urged his teammates to remain in attack mode. Edwards, who had been playing his way into a rhythm, finished the evening with a game-high 36 points on 22 shots and displayed the necessary poise, leadership and confidence for the hope of an upset.

“The older you get, the more mature you get, but I don’t think it’s just about me,” Edwards said. “It’s the people around me. They’re not just yes men or willing to do anything you say. These people really wanna see me succeed and don’t let me take a day off. They stay on me. I appreciate everyone in my circle but that’s enough about me. Ask about my team.”

Wembanyama will hopefully avoid a league suspension and return in Game 5 to a roaring, loving home crowd with the aim of regaining control of the series, presumably with a better understanding of how to navigate the physicality matrix. But the glass-half-full mentality still implies the presence of doubt, no matter how insignificant it appears on surface level. This series is just getting started.

“We're gonna keep our head high,” Spurs rookie guard Dylan Harper said. “There’s nothing to be down about — it’s the first to four. The series wasn’t going to be easy, we all knew that, but keeping that mentality of attacking, going with the gameplan and just being us.”