Talk about two polar conference finals! The western conference finals became a full-on, seven game slugfest between the top two teams of Oklahoma City and San Antonio while New York swept Cleveland in the east. The Knicks have won nine straight games, including two convincing series sweeps. Whichever team wins this year’s championship deserves the praise and accolades. It is time to break down which franchise has the best chance of winning a championship and raising a banner in the NBA’s 79th season.
#3 New York Knicks v. #2 San Antonio Spurs
There couldn’t be a more polar finals matchup if you tried to find one. New York was close to a finals appearance last year and was favored by many to at least return to the eastern conference finals this season. In the words of previous coaches, this could be New York’s only shot to win a championship with this core group.
San Antonio will make the Knicks earn that championship. 7’4″ center Victor Wembanyama has shattered every prediction and expectation of where viewers thought the Spurs would be in both his tenure and where he will be by his fifth season. The talent around Wembanyama has stepped up whenever needed and most importantly, San Antonio has learned how to fix mistakes and win games following losses.
In a lot of ways, New York and San Antonio mirror each other well. They have a lot of depth at every position, great coaching and learn valuable lessons after losses. The Knicks mostly have experience on their side while the Spurs have a lot of talent, determination to start a dynasty and don’t know any better compared to previous teams that have made it this far.
Verdict: There are two key differences that will determine which team wins this series. The first is matchup at center. Oklahoma City was lucky Isaiah Hartenstein played one of the best series of his career against Victor Wembanyama after Chet Holmgren imploded not even one game into the conference finals. Hartenstein at least has the body, versatility and smarts to counter a young, naïve generational talent. The Knicks don’t have that with any center on their roster. Karl Anthony-Towns has the distinct honor (and probably horror) of trying to stop Wembanyama every game. Anthony-Towns has improved every season of his NBA career, but he has a mostly thankless task of trying to stop San Antonio’s star center. Yes, Karl Anthony-Towns will have help from Mitchell Robinson at times, but he’s had injury issues throughout the postseason. Meanwhile, Wembanyama already said in previous interviews he uses envy and jealousy to drive him further to victory. Those energies have fed and strengthened the Spurs’ young core to surprising wins. Anyone who has seriously studied the NBA for decades knows exactly who he sounds like by saying this and playing like everything is a personal slight.
The second difference is one most people should think of the longer this series goes. Yes, Mike Brown is a Hall of Fame worthy coach considering what he has accomplished both this season and in previous years. Against any other team, Brown would have the coaching advantage (yes, even against the deep Thunder), but San Antonio is still a Gregg Popovich anchored team. When the Spurs lose a game, Popovich is the first person to let them know and make sure they fix what went wrong. Mitch Johnson is a solid coach but make no mistake, as long as Popovich is alive and has a working brain, it’s still his team. With Gregg Popovich watching every game, there is little doubt San Antonio loses a best of four to a less versatile Knicks…especially since the Spurs lost to New York in the Commissioner’s Cup earlier in the season. That should fuel Wembanyama’s fire.
Prediction: San Antonio Spurs defeat New York 4-2 and win their sixth Larry O’Brien Trophy
JD's Sportscorner 