5 Critical Changes Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs Must Make vs. New York Knicks In NBA Finals
The San Antonio Spurs defended the New York Knicks well enough to have won Game 1 of the NBA Finals.
However, the final score of 105-95 in the Knicks' favor says it all.
This was a game San Antonio lost on offense. That needs to be a point of agreement before we go any further when talking about necessary fixes for Victor Wembanyama and Co. to avoid a potentially unsalvageable 0-2 start before heading to Madison Square Garden.
Lest there be any dissent on that point, understand that San Antonio held the Knicks to a 109.4 offensive rating, a figure that dipped all the way to 89.7 in the halfcourt. Both efficiency ratings were the second-worst New York has produced during its historic 12-game winning streak.
Repeating that defensive feat will be difficult, but if there's a squad that can do it, it's the Spurs.
None of it will matter if San Antonio can't figure out how to score against New York. That'll be our focus here as we run through tweaks the Spurs must make to get back into the series.
Set Actual Screens
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The larger swath of postseason data says the Spurs don't have a screening issue. They're solid enough at 1.12 points per play involving the roll man during the playoffs. That's not as good as the Knicks' 1.29 points per play, but their number jumps to 1.27 when Wembanyama sets the pick.
Those numbers defy the eyes, particularly with respect to the visuals in Game 1.
Over and over again, Wembanyama would barely make contact with the opposing guard when setting picks up high, exiting the action too early in search of a quick catch near the foul line or out above the arc. When he did seek out more of a collision, it was the wrong kind. Too often, Wembanyama simply put two hands in the back of the opponent and shoved.
He did this same thing again later in the game, and Jalen Brunson was savvy enough to take a dive, drawing an offensive foul.
Wemby is perhaps the best player in the league, but he's not perfect. And one of his most glaring imperfections is his poor screening. He needs to establish position, let his guards drive their man into him and then open himself up to receive the ball.
This might feel like a small, nitpicky item. But if the Spurs are going to get their half-court attack in order, the very first thing they need to do is make their initial actions, ball screens high on the floor, accomplish something.
Attack Brunson
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The concept of tiring out Brunson so he lacks the offensive juice for late-game heroics might be flawed at its core. He outscored San Antonio 13-9 all by himself across the final 7:30 of Game 1, and he's done enough of that sort of thing over the years to suggest there's no level of fatigue high enough to stop him.
That doesn't mean the Spurs should give up on targeting him.
At the very least, San Antonio's attackers will have better luck calling Brunson into the action than they will against the likes of Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby. Yes, at this point in the playoffs, teams are versed in pre-switching to keep vulnerable defenders away from the play. Brunson spent the vast majority of his time in the vicinity of Julian Champagnie, a good shooter but not someone who applies pressure as a downhill driver or ball-screen operator.
But Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle only attempted two shots apiece with Brunson as their primary defender.
Surely, San Antonio can work a little harder to get its two best perimeter scoring threats into a favorable matchup against the Knicks' only weak link. Though they've done enough to quiet all the talk about their combined defensive vulnerability, Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are still New York's most exploitable piecesโespecially in high pick-and-roll actions.
Run
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Everything we've suggested so far focuses on what the Spurs can do to score more efficiently against the Knicks' set defense in the half court, but the best way to improve the offense is to completely avoid that situation.
San Antonio needs to get out and run.
The Spurs scored 25 transition points in the first half of Game 1, posting a gaudy 1.47 points per transition play. Whether due to fatigue or the Knicks burning more calories to get back after misses, San Antonio managed just four transition points after halftime and only .29 points per transition play.
It certainly didn't help that the Knicks only coughed up one turnover over the game's final two quarters, which basically eliminated the best available source of fast-break scoring, but San Antonio can still make running off of misses (and even makes) a point of emphasis.
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Recalibrate Wembanyama's Shot Diet
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The ideal offensive strategy with Wembanyama is to get him near the rim with enough space to catch lobs. The Knicks and everyone else have seen the results when allowing San Antonio to feed its big man that way, and they've correctly sold out to prevent easy catches in the restricted area.
A handful of issues we've previously hit coalesce here, as better screens (perhaps involving Brunson) could create mismatches and scramble the defense in ways that actually allow Wemby to carve out a position near the bucket. Ditto for transition chances, in which Wembanyama doesn't bring the ball up himself but instead sprints to the paint before multiple New York players can obstruct his path.
Failing that, San Antonio needs to discourage Wembanyama from attacking in isolation. New York loaded up effectively in Game 1, and Wemby often took a beat too long to assess the stagnant situation before initiating his move. In addition to shaky screening, Wembanyama isn't yet a reliable downhill driver.
Put simply, Wemby needs to finish offensive plays decisively, not try to start them by driving into traffic.
Lastly, Wembanyama could change the dynamics of New York's defense by aggressively taking threes when he has an opportunity. Swapping out drives for quick-trigger treys would also very likely prevent another six-turnover night from Wemby.
Though there's still no better option than getting him the ball close to the cup, a couple of drilled triples early in the contest could stretch the Knicks' defense a bit and open up scoring opportunities elsewhere by uncluttering the paint.
More Harper, Less Fox
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De'Aaron Fox cannot get to the basket, and it's quietly crippling San Antonio's offense.
Often unable to create an advantage off the dribble, Fox still settles for difficult in-between jumpers when screens allow him to get into the paint. In the playoffs, he's taking 31.4 percent of his shots from 3-10 feet and making only 44.2 percent of them. For context, only 20.4 percent of his field-goal attempts came from 3-10 feet in the regular season. He hit those at a far more respectable 55.1 percent clip.
Overall, he was just 3-of-13 from the field against the Knicks in Game 1.
In contrast, Harper put up 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, getting to the bucket repeatedly and showcasing his advanced finishing. While it's true San Antonio was outscored by six points in Harper's minutes, it's undeniable that he puts more pressure on New York's defense and has a much better chance of creating a spark in transition.
Harper is stronger, a better finisher and plays with a physical edge Fox can't match. Yet he played 10 fewer minutes (38 to 28) in Game 1.
The injury excuse is legitimate. Fox is battling a high ankle sprain and lacks the burst he needs to truly bend a defense. San Antonio can't let its respect for the veteran guard get in the way of a clear-eyed assessment. While Fox has value as an adult-in-the-room presence and deserves credit for fighting through an injury that would definitely have sidelined him if these were regular-season games, he can't be granted minutes on the basis of reputation.
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.
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