SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama was quiet on the court in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals and silent afterward.
The San Antonio Spurs surely are hoping to see a different version of him on Thursday.
Game 6 of the West title series awaits, with the Spurs – facing elimination for the first time in these playoffs – set to play host to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder. Oklahoma City leads the series 3-2 and would have home-court advantage if a Game 7 is necessary on Saturday.
“I think we’ll be fine,” Spurs forward Julian Champagnie said. “I think we’ll be ready to play next game. Obviously, it’s a win-or-go-home situation, so I’m 100% sure everybody’s going to come to play.”
That would include Wembanyama, who was held to a series-low 20 points in Tuesday’s Game 5 loss in Oklahoma City. He didn’t speak with reporters after that game, and the NBA issued him a warning on Wednesday for not fulfilling media obligations.
The Spurs would likely prefer Wembanyama does his talking on the court on Thursday. Getting him more than 15 shot attempts will be a priority, Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said.
“That’s probably the easiest (adjustment) in terms of just surface-level stuff,” Johnson said. “He’ll definitely need to take more shots.”
There are all sorts of technical and highly nuanced adjustments that get made over the course of a playoff series, especially a back-and-forth playoff series like these West finals have been.
Game plans can seem quite elaborate. But for the Thunder, the plan going into a possible closeout game like Game 6 against the Spurs couldn’t come with a simpler plan.
“We’ve got to understand what’s going on,” Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Here’s what’s going on: The Spurs will be fighting for their playoff lives, with a home crowd behind them hoping to see them extend their season for at least one more game.
A back-and-forth series – San Antonio won Game 1 in double-OT, Oklahoma City won Games 2 and 3, the Spurs won Game 4 and the Thunder prevailed in Game 5 – has now reached the must-win phase for San Antonio.
“We’ve been great when we’re desperate all year,” Spurs guard Stephon Castle said. “I can’t wait to see how we respond.”
THUNDER BENCH HAS BEEN KEY
Alex Caruso sparked another big effort from the Oklahoma City bench on Tuesday night. And he’s a big reason the Thunder are on the verge of returning to the NBA Finals.
The former Lakers guard scored 22 points and shot 4 for 8 from 3-point range to help Oklahoma City – which was down two starters – to a 127-114 victory in Game 5.
“We have good players on our bench. They’ve got good players on their bench,” Caruso said. “So, we know that’s an area of the game where you can try to find some positive plus-minus time for that group.”
The bench rotation wasn’t the same for the Thunder in Game 5; Jared McCain moved into the starting lineup and scored 20 points. McCain scored 24 of Oklahoma City’s 76 bench points in a 123-108 win in Game 3 at San Antonio.
Instead, Oklahoma City got eight points off the bench from Kenrich Williams, who made both of the 3-point shots he attempted, and seven points from Cason Wallace. The Thunder outscored the Spurs by 29 points in Wallace’s 31 minutes.
“I think we’ve just gone a good job, whoever it’s been – and it’s been a lot of different people during the series, a couple of guys that have been consistently there,” said Caruso, who added six assists. “That group, I think … has just done a great job of competing through those minutes.”
After five games, the Thunder bench is outscoring San Antonio’s reserves 257-127.
CLOSEOUT GAMES
The Thunder are 2-0 in closeout chances this year, winning Game 4s on the road in both Round 1 against Phoenix and Round 2 against the Lakers. They were 4-2 in closeout chances last season on the way to the NBA title.
The Spurs won elimination games in each of their last two playoff series before this season, but ultimately wound up losing both of those series.
THE ODDS
Oddsmakers evidently expect a Game 7. They’ve made San Antonio a 3½-point favorite for Game 6, which means the series would go back to Oklahoma City for a winner-take-all game.
The Thunder are still favored to win the NBA title.