NBA West playoff preview capsules: Spurs-Blazers, Nuggets-Wolves, Lakers-Rockets

Capsules on the Western Conference first-round series:

No. 2 San Antonio Spurs (62-20) vs. No. 7 Portland Trail Blazers (42-40)

Season series: Spurs, 2-1.

Story line: San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama's playoff debut is here. Same goes for Portland star Deni Avdija — who waited six years, and blossomed into an All-Star this season, before getting to this stage. There are some stats that suggest this is a matchup nightmare for San Antonio, such as head-to-head FG% (.440 for the Spurs, .439 for the Blazers), 3-point FG% (.344 for the Spurs, .339 for the Blazers) and rebounds per game (50 for the Spurs, 47.3 for the Blazers). But there's also this one really big point to consider, that being that Wembanyama didn't play in any of the three games against the Blazers this season.

Key matchup: Wembanyama vs. Everybody. This is what we've all been waiting for, Wemby in the postseason. The Spurs won 62 games in a loaded West, contended for the No. 1 overall seed until the final days of the season, were a matchup nightmare for just about everyone and Wembanyama is at the center of it all — rarely looking fazed in any moment. Avdija is great, but he'll have to be otherworldly for Portland to have a real chance.

Prediction: Spurs in 5.

No. 3 Denver Nuggets (54-28) vs. No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves (49-33)

Season series: Nuggets, 3-1.

Story line: The Nuggets roll into the playoffs with a 12-game winning streak that vaulted them into third place in the Western Conference and a matchup with what’s become a familiar foe. Denver and Minnesota have played 28 games since 2022 and this will be the third postseason meeting in four years between the clubs. Denver beat Minnesota in the first round in 2023 en route to its first NBA championship, but the Timberwolves avenged that in a crushing way the next year when they came from 20 points down in Game 7 of the West semifinals to end Denver’s title reign.