The NBA Finals continue tonight in San Antonio. Here’s the vitals:
Who: New York Knicks (1-0) vs. San Antonio Spurs (0-1)
Where: Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, TX
When: 5:30 PM PT / 8:30 PM ET
Watch: ABC
Jalen Brunson was the best player for either team in Game 1, and the Knicks hold a 1-0 series lead heading into Game 2 in San Antonio tonight.
Our old pal De’Aaron Fox occupies what is probably the most interesting storyline heading into Game 2: Dylan Harper was awesome, while Fox scored just 7 points on 2-13 shooting. Will the Spurs make any minutes or role adjustments here? We’ll find out in a few hours, but the Knicks are in a great spot right now.
Prediction: Spurs 110, Knicks 105
I expect a strong comeback game from Wemby &Co.
This first quarter with full
court pressure is a good start
You expected wrong. Spurs have to earn their lumps before they win the ship.
Series is over.
KAT totally outplaying Wemby at the half .
Man, what a game. Knicks up 2-0 going into New York for the next two games.
Yeah, it’s getting pretty close to over at this point. Wemby had two chances to win it and just couldn’t get it done. He’s young, and that team is only going to get better.
Seems to be just youth and inexperience. This is only the start of a dominant Spurs run for the next decade. Wemby, Castle, and Harper are the best young 3 I can ever recall. Even the Thunder’s young Durant, Westbrook, and Harden trio weren’t this accomplished Durant didn’t make the Finals until his 5th year with OKC.
I think this was said only a year ago about OKC.
Hard to build dynasties under the current CBA.
Sure, and OKC is still a title contender. The difference is the Spurs will have arguably their 3 best players still on their rookie scale deals for another year. Wemby won’t qualify for a supermax deal (which SGA starts next year) for another 5 years! The Spurs won’t have the 3 major contracts the Thunder have for another 4 years. That’s just incredible.
As has been discussed on these threads, the Fox deal will be their anchor going forward, but I feel they will move off of it sooner rather than later. Even if they somehow can’t move him (they will) Dylan Harper’s rookie extension won’t kick in until Fox’s final year.
Accurate but you have to also figure that OKC has a pile of draft picks going forward. I suspect they will move on from Dort. It’s the Holmgren contract that would concern me. Having said that, IMO Okc is in at least as good of shape as San Antonio.
Agreed.
I get that Harper and Castle are the future, but the experience Fox has as a ball handler is underated and I wonder how bad his ankle is
I agree. The sentiment towards the Spurs is the same that was towards OKC this time last year. Things change quick though. And Wemby given his height, can become a walking injury at anytime.
Good point. As they showed, OKC is in a much better position to handle an injury than San Antonio.
On another note, Sac should have gotten a little more for Fox but moving on from him is not a catastrophe.
He ran out of gas. Played 40 minutes. That’s also on the coach.
Fox should have taken the shot if they had an inkling that Wemby was gassed. He had the angle to turn for a middie. That would have been his moment to prove his value for the max contract. He was even shooting relatively well this game.
The coach had no choice. If he doesn’t play 40 minutes they had no chance.
It really looked as if the refs got the mandate to help the Spurs. These “KAT calls” to get him in foul trouble were ridiculous. And then refusing to see the foul on OG’s three? And those were the firts FT’s for the Knicks in the second half, with 2:37 left in the 4th!Come on. Not 2002, but pretty bad.
Another observation; bench guy Landry Shamet has been the X-factor for the Knicks throughout these play-offs. And I never thought he’d be able to play tough D with that slight frame. Hats off to the guy. Unsung hero.
Wouldn’t that be a flagrant 2 on most players?
Above the shoulders, clear follow through?
https://x.com/SnapshotKyle/status/2063071036808245626?s=20
totally agree on fouls 3 and 4 called on KAT and the Fox stare down all should be either no calls or a T on De’Aaron.
The Knicks had to challenge an obvious foul (Champagnie on Annunoby)
Do you expect more of the same at MSG?
Also shout out to the lesser stars of Game 2 along with Shamet/McBride/Robinson – Annunoby and Bridges were vital (Hart last game)
Shamet has been doing his best Derrick White impression. Been fun to watch. Even funner to watch is Josh Hart, so much energy and the rebounding is insane.
The most frustrating Knick is and was Bridges, so on and off all the time. He’s an enigma.
Different levels – I get that – but he’s their Keegan Murray.
Damn, Knicks shot just five (5 count’em 5) free throws in the 2nd half of that physical game and had to challenge to get three of them. That should raise an eyebrow or two – and Scott Foster wasn’t on the court!
Right about Shamet but to suggest the refs got a mandate to help the Spurs is ridiculous.
Haven’t really followed the Knicks this season, but in my honest dumb opinion, KAT is exactly who Mike Brown envisioned Domas to be: high post passing big man with the ability to shoot jumpers or 3s. Except Domas has elite rebounding, while KAT can drive to the hoop too. Seems like the DHO and high post offense was Brown’s idea, not Jordi’s or Jay’s.
Maybe KAT’s performance will motivate teams teams to trade for Domas…one can only hope.
I have to wonder, if the Knicks do go on and win the title, are other teams in the East going to be motivated to go all in on a wide open East making some of our players attractive?
A lot of the teams with contending aspirations happen to have offensive issues, so I can see players like Monk, DDR, Lavine and Domas potentially have some appeal for these offensively challenged teams.
I honestly don’t think any of our current players would be attractive to a team trying to compete for something. Monk maaaaaaybe could get you something small but the reality is that none of these guys are winning players.
You may be able to get out of his contract without giving up anything of value and that would be a plus.
Offense-only guards mostly aren’t a thing any more in the NBA, especially if they’re undersized and not point guards. Monk might be a small benefit to an offensively challenged team, but you’re not going to get any real value in return.
I think LaVine will be a nice acquisition for a contending at the midseason trade deadline. I’m hoping the Kings can get something in return.
Yes, a lot of these teams in the East need a scorer and with Lavine on an expiring they wouldn’t have a ton to lose in a trade.
Something like LaVine to the Pistons for Duncan Robinson, Caris Levert, Isaiah Stewart? That all depends on how much the Pistons value Stewart, and if they decide to retain Tobias Harris.
Stewart would probably start at the 4 for the Kings. The team needs some toughness, and Stewart would fur sure bring that!
Jake Fischer reporting that execs expect Kings to make Sabonis available this offseason.
Whatever that means.
It means that execs expect Kings to make Sabonis available this offseason.
RIP Stacey King. Only 59 years old. Sad…
Been an excruciating year for NBA passings, especially younger people.
Just read that the average ticket price for game 3 is $5000. The number of seats at MSG for basketball is 19,812, so that’s $5000×19,812 = $99 million in ticket prices for one game!
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