What Are New York Knicks' Realistic Chances vs. OKC Thunder or San Antonio Spurs in NBA Finals?

After ending their sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday with a 130-93 beatdown, the New York Knicks are headed back to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999.

And though it's long felt like whoever emerged from the Western Conference would be an obvious favorite, New York is hot enough to wonder if that's still true.

The Knicks have won 11 straight. They swept both the Cavs and the Philadelphia 76ers. Eleven of their 12 total wins in the postseason have been by double-digits. They've now put together four 30-point beatdowns.

Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs are engaged in a knock-down, drag-out fight on the other side of the bracket. Either figures to be banged up in the Finals. And even if they weren't, New York has probably shown us enough to believe in a potential upset.

Below, we'll weigh the Knicks' strengths and weaknesses against either matchup, and ultimately decide whether they have a real shot to win the organization's first championship since 1973.

Knicks Can Beat the Spurs with Size and Experience

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There probably isn't much to glean from a single game in December, but the Knicks beat the Spurs in this season's Emirates Cup final.

And in that contest, New York absolutely pummeled San Antonio on the boards, 59-42.

Of course, Victor Wembanyama only played 25 minutes that night. He's bound to average significantly more in the Finals, but Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson will lean on him plenty during the series. And with OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart, New York has a chance to win on the physicality front on the wings.

That, of course, doesn't really extend to the backcourt. The size and athleticism of Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper could cause problems for Jalen Brunson, but the Knicks star has loads more experience.

And though San Antonio's lack of the same hasn't really shown up in this postseason, that's historically been a critical component for deep playoff runs.

Towns, Brunson, Anunoby, Bridges and Hart have all taken plenty of playoff lumps during their careers. Even when you include De'Aaron Fox, the Spurs really haven't.

Spurs Can Beat the Knicks with Wemby and Athleticism

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Castle and Harper are both in the middle of their first playoff runs. And again, that's no small thing. But neither are their physical advantages over Brunson.

To this point in the Western Conference Finals, those two have been crucial components of a defense holding two-time reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to 39.2 percent shooting. They'll make life much more difficult for Brunson than Donovan Mitchell or James Harden did.

And though New York does have a lot of size to throw at Wemby, he's more than answered every question sent his way during this postseason.

With his impact on both ends of the floor and averages of 26.3 points, 12.7 rebounds, 4.3 blocks and 3.3 assists (when you remove the two games he left early for a concussion and a suspension), Wemby has been the playoffs' most valuable player.

Towns' offense can pull Wembanyama away from the basket. Mitchell Robinson's relentless rebounding could wear Wemby down inside. But the Spurs' big man is a far more difficult assignment than either has faced to this point in the postseason. And he's capable of causing more problems than he has to solve himself.

Knicks Can Beat the Thunder On the Wings and In the War of Attrition

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Brunson has been borderline MVP-caliber throughout this playoff run. The Knicks unlocking Towns' playmaking has been huge too. But the single biggest reason New York skated through the East might be their big, versatile wings.

Anunoby, Bridges and Hart (who's more of a guard, but he's also oversized there) are dynamic, switchable defenders who just made life miserable for Harden in the conference finals. They helped shut down Tyrese Maxey in the previous round too.

And a lot of what Castle and Harper have been able to do to SGA in the West is replicable by those three Knicks wings. They can bother him with their length and a little physicality (assuming officials aren't too prone to give him his regular-season whistle).

The other (and probably bigger) advantage for the Knicks is that they'll be the fresher team. They've played 14 total games. They've swept the last two rounds. They'll get a fair bit of rest between now and the Finals.

The Thunder, meanwhile, are currently without Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell. Neither is likely to magically get to 100 percent health before the next series. And without their playmaking, the responsibility on SGA's shoulders might simply be too heavy.

Thunder Can Beat the Knicks with SGA and Defense

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Even with the injuries, though, OKC can throw waves of high-end defenders at Knicks all over the rotation.

They can play big with both Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. They can go small and more switchable with either at the 5 and ferocious perimeter defenders like Cason Wallace, Luguentz Dort and Alex Caruso around them.

Thanks to all of the above, no team in the NBA is better at establishing a hyper-physical tone early and coaxing officials to let a lot go for the rest of the game. If it's a typical, grind-it-out, playoff-like atmosphere, the Thunder will have the edge.

And though SGA has struggled with the length and athleticism of the Spurs in the conference finals, a breakout against them or the Knicks wouldn't be remotely surprising.

There's a reason he's won two MVPs. And there are very few tough shotmakers in NBA history on his level. As soon as he starts playing through contact instead of playing for fouls, the Thunder could quickly look like a juggernaut again.

The Knicks Can Win It All

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The biggest takeaway of all of the above is that the Knicks are a very real threat to win it all. They're the first team to punch their ticket to the Finals. And they have real advantages over either potential opponent.

Right now, their odds to finish the season as the champs are a not-too-crazy plus-220. At plus-100, the Thunder's are still shorter, but the gap is narrowing.

And by the time the Western Conference Finals are over, whichever team is left standing will be far more worn down than New York.

Across NBA history, several champs have hit a point during their playoff run when they start to feel like a "team of destiny." The Knicks may not quite be there yet, but their 11-game winning streak and Finals berth have moved us a lot closer to that point.