The Portland Trail Blazers are taking on the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night for the second time in as many days.

On Thursday, San Antonio easily downed the Blazers 118-105 behind a 38-14 first quarter and a dominant night from rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama.

In that game, the Blazers, down starters Anfernee Simons (illness), Shaedon Sharpe (hip), and Deandre Ayton (knee) – as well as backup center Duop Reath (back) – struggled to generate offense. Wembanyama's defensive gravity clearly changed the geometry of the game for the Blazers, but Wemby isn't expected to play on Friday as he continues to deal with a sore ankle.

So, what adjustments do the Blazers need to make to exact a little revenge on the Spurs? Here are three:

Get off to a better start

If forced to choose one hallmark of this early Blazers season, poor first quarters would probably be at the top of the list. The team has shown ample fight against teams that clearly have superior talent this season, but Portland has repeatedly dug itself into an early hole with stagnant offense and early turnovers.

Against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, the Blazers remedied that issue – scoring 32 first quarter points with a still-too-high-but-acceptable 4 turnovers in the first 12 minutes of action. As seems to be the norm lately, Portland won the second half and walked away with the 130-113 win.

Even against the Spurs, the Blazers won the final three quarters 91-80. But the team was doomed after a listless start.

Portland needs to come out with energy from the jump, lock down defensively, and take care of the ball early.

Work the paint

With Wembanyama all but guaranteed to be out for the Spurs on Friday, the paint is much more open for the Blazers to attack. San Antonio still has Zach Collins and Jeremy Sochan – a pair of defensive-minded players that can shut down drives – but Wemby completely altered Portland's point of attack on Thursday. The Blazers were hesitant to even drive and, if they did, frequently stopped a step or two short. If they did attack as normal, Wembanyama was there to erase everything Portland tried – as evidenced by his 7 blocks.

The Blazers need to be aggressive getting to the lane and finishing. After losing the points in the paint battle 60-38, Portland needs to see that number flipped around on Friday.

Continue to rely on the bench

The Blazers' bench struggled on Thursday, only putting up 17 points in the loss. That makes sense, considering multiple bench pieces were moved to the starting lineup due to injury. That being said, the Blazers need the reserves to come out with energy and connectedness, similarly to the way they played against the Kings on Tuesday.

Reath's back injury isn't considered serious, as he was a very late scratch (only 7 minutes before tipoff). Watching him warm up before the game, his movement didn't seem especially hampered. Considering his ability to stretch the opponent's big man out to the 3-point line and the 25-points he poured in against Sacramento, Reath could be a candidate to make a difference on Friday.

The Blazers have seen recent success with a four-man bench lineup of Scoot Henderson, Matisse Thybulle, Jabari Walker, and Reath. Should Simons or Sharpe return to the starting lineup on Friday, expect to see Scoot put back in that reserve role where, hopefully, that lineup can wreak havoc on the Spurs bench.

The Trail Blazers host the Spurs from Moda Center at 7pm PST Friday.