5 Ways New York Knicks Can Exploit San Antonio Spurs in 2026 NBA Finals

No team has ever been hotter entering the NBA Finals than the New York Knicks, who've won 11 straight games by an average of 23.8 points.

And yet: New York is a heavy underdog against the San Antonio Spurs.

That means the Knicks can't just go into the Finals assuming that what got them here will get them through. San Antonio and Victor Wembanyama present far different challenges than New York's previous playoff opponents, and beating them will require tailor-made strategies and lineups.

The Knicks are fresher, in a better rhythm and far more experienced than their opponents, but those advantages won't be enough by themselves.

Let's take a pre-Finals look at some of the specific areas where New York needs to focus its attack. If they can stay disciplined and pick at San Antonio's few trouble spots, the Knicks can extend their historic run and secure the franchise's first title in over 50 years.

Stay Hot

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Sounds simple enough, right? Filter out all the matchup nuances and tactical tricks, and even Finals games can still be decided on a make-or-miss basis.

One reason the Knicks are where they are: They've been doing a whole lot of making.

New York is hitting over half of its shots from the field, while absolutely dominating around the basket. No postseason team is getting a higher share of its field-goal attempts at the rim than the Knicks, who are converting those looks at a stellar 68.9 percent. Wembanyama's presence guarantees a major dip in opponent frequency and accuracy in the restricted area, so it's a good thing the Knicks are also drilling a playoff-best 40.0 percent of their threes.

If there's any silver lining to playing against Wemby, it's that teams tend to get up more long-range attempts when he's in the game. With Wembanyama on the floor, Spurs opponents take about 41.7 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. that number dives to 33.9 percent when he's off the floor and access to the rim opens back up.

If the Knicks can continue to stripe it from deep, they have a chance to not only survive the minutes when Wembanyama is on the floor but perhaps even win a few of them.

Lean on Mitch

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The Knicks and Spurs met three times during the regular season, and the Knicks' two wins revealed a fairly clear blueprint for success: Unleash Mitchell Robinson*, and let him dominate the glass.

On March 1, the Knicks won the rebounding battle by a margin of 54 to 41 and were a plus-10 in Robinson's 15 minutes of court time, securing an easy 114-89 win. The other New York victory came in the NBA Cup Final and saw Robinson make an even bigger impact. He hauled in 10 offensive rebounds in 18 minutes as the Knicks were a plus-nine with him on the floor.

Wembanyama seems to be a different player now than he was just a few months ago—more driven and more accustomed to physicality. His Spurs are similarly evolved. They've had to figure out how to defeat different types of teams, all of which try to pick at one weakness or another.

They have yet to face a rebounder like Robinson, though, and his presence on the floor might be the closest thing there is to Wembanyama kryptonite. Wemby's minus-18 in 25 minutes of Cup Final action was his worst of any game this season. The minus-15 he posted in that March 1 loss was his third-worst showing of the campaign.

If the Knicks are going to win a title, Robinson and his game-altering, Wemby-neutralizing rebounding will have a lot to do with it.

*Robinson had surgery to repair a fractured right pinky finger but intends to play.

Maximum Spacing

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Josh Hart is a critical defender, pace-pusher, rebounder and all-around weapon for the Knicks, but head coach Mike Brown needs to keep him on the shortest of leashes against San Antonio.

The book on Hart is to leave him alone on the perimeter and dare him to shoot threes. Most teams are comfortable with the proposition of losing a game because Hart knocks down five threes against that coverage. That's exactly what happened to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 2 of the Conference Finals, for example.

For the playoffs, Hart is only hitting 30.3 percent of his long-range attempts. That's just not good enough, particularly against a Spurs team that is just itching to stash Wembanyama on him as often as possible. If Hart can't be a threat, and if Wembanyama is allowed to roam wherever he wants without fear of paying for it, New York won't score enough to be competitive.

Replacing Hart with either Landry Shamet or Deuce McBride changes the dynamic, putting five dangerous three-point threats on the floor and forcing Wembanyama to defend either Karl-Anthony Towns (who'll also be out in space) or stay engaged in the fight for rebounding position with Robinson near the basket.

Secure the Rock

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The San Antonio Spurs are averaging 8.8 steals and 7.3 blocks through 18 postseason games, joining the 1979-80 Philadelphia 76ers as the only teams to ever grade out so disruptively over that many games in a single playoffs.

If the Knicks ball-handlers don't take care of the rock when Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper apply pressure, or if their attackers aren't ultra-cautious when lofting up shots in Wemby's three-mile-wide block radius, they'll be in big trouble.

New York's transition offense is dangerous, but the Spurs run more often and do substantially more damage off steals and live rebounds. While it's certainly true that the Knicks should do everything possible to attack before San Antonio's impenetrable defense gets set, they'll be in for a world of hurt if the emphasis on increased pace comes with mistakes.

So far, the Knicks have taken good care of the ball. Their turnover rate of 13.4 percent is lower than the Spurs' to this point in the playoffs. They need to maintain that advantage while also pressing some of San Antonio's sometimes suspect dribblers (looking at you, Steph Castle).

This means New York must strike a difficult balance: Play fast and with lots of defensive aggression, but not so much that it turns the game into an up-and-down footrace that San Antonio's more athletic disruptors will probably win.

Keep KAT Away from Wemby

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Maybe this is counterintuitive, since Towns actually performed reasonably well against Wemby during the season. But the Knicks probably need to avoid a straight center-against-center defensive matchup as often as possible.

Foul trouble has long been a crippling weakness for Towns, and the Knicks will be drawing dead if he can't stay on the floor.

Wembanyama hasn't progressed to elite status as a foul-grifter just yet, but he tested out a few "hard drive, hook the defender's arm and try to shoot" attempts against the Thunder in the West Finals. If KAT isn't at his most disciplined, Wemby probably won't even need to resort to tricks like that. The most damaging version of Towns can get himself into foul trouble without help, often 30-plus feet from the basket or on rebound attempts he has no chance to secure.

It's been an issue for years.

OG Anunoby might be the best non-center option in the league to throw at Wembanyama. His strength and savvy are legitimate weapons against any big man, even if putting a forward on Wemby leaves the Knicks vulnerable to duck-ins and lobs.

Towns will get his chances against Wembanyama, but New York cannot rely on him as a primary defender. The potential cost—losing an indispensable offensive weapon because of defensive fouls—is just too great.

Stats courtesy of NBA.com, Basketball Reference and Cleaning the Glass. Salary info via Spotrac.

Grant Hughes covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, where he appears with Bleacher Report's Dan Favale.