2026 NBA FINALS: (2) San Antonio Spurs Vs. (3) New York Knicks

This game was an absolute pleasure to watch.

This coaching staff needs to accept that 3s are an essential part of the modern game and a necessity to counter teams with excellent rim protection. We won't have a chance in the Wemby era without it.

Everyone on this roster needs to make quicker decisions and get more comfortable with increasing the number of attempts per game. I'm especially singling out Jabari for this. He's a good dude who is unselfish and wants to do the right thing but he needs to be much more aggressive. I want him up to about 8 attempts per game to force the defense to account for him at all times.

KD honestly needs the be in that 8 attempts per game range too. I think he cares a little too much about his percentages. We need him spacing to help give our non-shooters room to operate inside.

There is no version of FVV that makes sense as a starter anymore. He just doesn't put enough pressure of defenses. Love the guy but his contract (assuming and opt-in) is one of the best ways to get an impact player from a team that wants to shed salary. Hopefully he gets moved again and waived so we can pick him back up like the Wolves did with Conley.

 

Brunson is such a satisfying player to watch.

 

https://www.nba.com/stats/players/advanced?CF=FGA_PG*GE*20&TeamID=0&dir=A&sort=TS_PCT

in this playoffs 9 players averaged 20 or more shots per game

Jalen Brunson leads them in TS% with Dillon Brooks a close second (surprised)

While Jalen Green has the worst TS% of the 9 players (not surprised)

 

100% hard work
0% ego

gotta give props to his dad

and the Mavs for letting him walk LOL

 

Picking Coop Flagg is not going to erase not letting Luka play with Brunson for an extended amount of time.

 

Went to bed…wtf happened?!

 

The Knicks didn't quit, and they where not scared of the moment.

 

Shamet’s dad

 

I didn't realize the Spurs had Fox in for Harper down the stretch - seems like a mistake!

 

The Knicks are peaking at the right time.

 

Rocket fans are feeling bad about missing out on Castle but could you imagine how Dallas fans are feeling about letting Brunson walk?

 

Mavs still got to the finals with Luka

while Rockets would have beat the Lakers in the first round if they had Castle instead of Reed

 

Fatigue bit both teams very hard, but moreso the Spurs.

Harper was the Spurs leading scoring going into the 4th but didn't play down the stretch. In fact, I don't think he scored a single point in the 4th. Fox's game 7 did not carry over at all to game 1. For some bizarre reason unknown to mankind, Mitch Johnson gave key minutes to Harrison Barnes down the stretch and he failed badly.

Tell you what: If fatigue continues to be an issue in the series, the Spurs could be in big trouble if Keldon Johnson and Carter Bryant don't contribute a lot more because playing their starters 35+ mins per game in this series may not be workable.