The mood in the San Antonio Spurs locker room was very different when they began their series by beating the Portland Trail Blazers. Victor Wembanyama had scored 35, breaking the franchise record for the most points on a playoff debut, and he just seemed unstoppable. Naturally, everybody rooted for ‘The Alien’ and expected more fire, possibly even a blowout in the series. Wemby then revealed that his team gave him space to improve his game, and the physical presence of legends like Tim Duncan and David Robinson “feels safe” instead of adding pressure. He entered the second game with a similar mindset.

Wemby started positively with five points, four rebounds, one assist, and one block in twelve minutes. The game was also tighter than expected, with San Antonio actually leading by only a point after the second quarter. It was then time for either team to apply some pressure and create a substantial advantage. That’s when disaster struck, and it didn’t take long for Spurs fans’ hopes to burn to the ground in Game 2. And insider Shams Charania’s verdict on the incident isn’t positive.

“San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama has been diagnosed with a concussion and will have further testing on Wednesday,” Charania wrote on X. “Per NBA guidelines, Wembanyama cannot return to full participation for 48 hours but can resume gradual activity in 24 hours as long as his symptoms don’t worsen.”

So, what exactly happened on the court?

The world turned upside down for the Spurs when Wemby fell down while driving to the basket with 8:57 left in the second quarter. Jrue Holiday, who was defending him, committed a foul as the 22-year-old spun and tried to make way in the paint. The concerning part wasn’t the foul, but the way Wemby fell chin-first to the ground, unable to defend himself. In fact, for a few brief seconds, the Frenchman seemed knocked out and motionless…

However, Wemby’s face soon flinched, and it was clear he was in pain. He rolled around and tried to lift himself by kneeling. But he was back down on the ground, tightly clutching his face. He spoke to his teammate Stephon Castle for a brief moment, and head coach Mitch Johnson also called a timeout.

As soon as Wemby gained proper balance on his feet, he sprinted down the tunnel, obviously hoping to return to the court. “Wemby” chants tore through Frost Bank Center. 15 minutes later, head athletic trainer Will Sevening returned to the Spurs bench with bad news, prompting more factors to come into play.

The nature of this accident triggered the concussion protocol, and Wemby had to be ruled out. After the game, Johnson was honest about his star.

“I just know he has a concussion and he’s in a protocol,” the coach said. “We’ll obviously take the proper, appropriate steps… I didn’t get the full message on what happened. I couldn’t tell if he was holding his hand or his chest.”

When asked if Wemby was being evaluated for anything beyond a concussion, Johnson added, “No.”

“He spun, hit his head, and I was like, ‘Ooh.’ I tried to talk to him. He was like, ‘I’m good, my head just hurt a little bit,’” teammate Dylan Harper said after Game 2. “Yeah, I was going to pray for him. He’s one of the tough guys I know, so he’s going to shake back real quick. I don’t know how he’s feeling right now. Hopefully, he’s feeling better than everyone thinks. But I mean, a lot of his sprinting, that’s a great thing. So I’m going to tip my hat to that and just kind of just stay the course with him.”

With Wembanyama’s return now in question, here’s how he can become eligible to play again.

“He [Wemby] must hit several benchmarks while being symptom-free before he is cleared to play,” Charania wrote. “He’ll then require clearance from team doctor in consultation with league protocol director.

Luckily, Game 3 is on Friday in Portland, more than 48 hours since Wemby’s fall. However, Dr. Jesse Morse, M.D., who frequently discusses athletes’ injuries, outlined a timeline for Wemby’s potential absence. He said a concussion can take 3 to 10+ days to recover from and clear the protocol.

“The fastest a player can clear the concussion protocol in the NFL is 5 days,” Morse posted on X.

Putting that into a larger perspective, Game 5 in his seven days and Game 7 will happen in ten days. The fitness freak that Wemby is, that fall last night was a hard one. But for the Frenchman to have any positive impact on the series, notably in Games 3, 4, and 5, he will need to fast-track his recovery. The series is currently even at 1-1, with the youngest NBA Defensive Player of the Year’s team left in a slight pickle.

Last night, Portland’s Scoot Henderson didn’t just play well; he ended a 405-day personal drought of scoring 30 or more points, and picked the perfect stage to do it. The 22-year-old dropped a playoff career-high 31 on 11-of-17 shooting, including five threes, leading Portland all the way back from 14 down in the fourth quarter to steal a 106-103 win in San Antonio. He’s now the only other player from the 2023 draft class besides Wembanyama to score 30 in the playoffs.

The Spurs overcame Wemby’s absences in the regular season, and they had a 12-6 record when he missed out. In fact, he had a rib contusion right at the end of the regular season, but the playoffs are a different animal. His on/off swing this season was significant, and Portland’s defensive versatility is built to capitalize on it. If the Spurs want to advance, the rest of the roster needs to hold things together long enough for Wemby to come back and come back healthy. The ask isn’t much. All they need is one game on the road to recapture home-court advantage. But can they do it without Wemby?