The Spurs are set to host the Knicks for their first visit to the NBA Finals since 2014. Meanwhile, the Knicks will be in the Finals for the first time since 1999, a year when they also faced the Spurs.
Ahead of this highly anticipated matchup, the Lakers legend, Magic Johnson, took to social media and gave his opinion on the series with a bold prediction. He suggested that the tactics that worked for both teams previously in the playoffs may not work in this matchup.
“Victor Wembanyama dominated the paint on defense during the Series against OKC while playing in a zone, but that won’t work against the Knicks given the 3-point shooting ability of Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby,” wrote Johnson on X.
“And for the Knicks, I’m wondering who’s going to guard Victor Wembanyama. They won’t have as easy a time on offense due to the much better defensive ability of the Spurs compared to their previous matchups against the Hawks, 76ers, and Cavaliers,” he added.
“What team will be affected the most? The Knicks, because of their eight days off, or the Spurs only having three days off after a grueling seven-game series before Game 1? This is set to be one of the most-watched NBA Finals because both teams peaked at the right time and got hot in the Playoffs,” Johnson ends with a bold prediction.
The NBA legend has essentially elaborated on the famous phrase, ‘defense wins championships,’ to a level that both teams’ defensive strategies will prove to be their X-factor.
For the Spurs, they will need to adjust their defense to accommodate the three-point shooting threats of Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby. Karl-Anthony Towns is a 39.7% shooter from the three-point range for his career, and Anunoby shoots 37.7% from deep.
Meanwhile, in the Thunder series, Chet Holmgren performed abysmally. And Shai Gilgeous-Alexander mainly relies on the mid-range to generate offense, which Jalen Brunson also knows how to exploit. But Brunson (6.3) has, on average, attempted a lot more three-point shots than Gilgeous-Alexander (3.9) in the playoffs so far.
Therefore, Magic Johnson believes, not just the bigs, but the Knicks’ overall offense relies a lot more on threes than the Thunder did. And the Spurs needed to clog the paint against the Thunder, which will not be the case against New York.
For the Knicks, the biggest question will be deciding who guards Victor Wembanyama. Even though Karl-Anthony Towns would be a better matchup to compete with his size and physicality, OG Anunoby may be a lot more agile and have better reflexes as a defender.
The Knicks could have tried to do with Mitchell Robinson what the Thunder did with their backup big Isaiah Hartenstein, to match Wembanyama’s physicality.
But Robinson just underwent finger surgery and plans to play with a brace, so a player with an injury that can be targeted as a weakness may not be the best response for Wembanyama.
Hence, both teams have a lot to figure out on the defensive end. Johnson concluded with a bold prediction that both teams’ recent forms will draw significant attention, making this one of the most-watched NBA Finals series of all time. The Knicks are on an 11-game unbeaten streak, and the Spurs just defeated the defending champions in a Game 7.
Both sides have a significant history as well, coming into the series. They met in the NBA Cup championship game, where the Knicks emerged victorious. Dylan Harper, Victor Wembanyama, and the young Spurs want to take revenge for that.
The Spurs host Game 1 of this series on Wednesday, June 3. All eyes will then be on San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center.
