There\u2019s a big difference between 3-1 and 2-2 in the\u00a0NBA Finals. The former is a show of dominance and an almost guarantee of a championship as far as history is concerned. The latter means this series will last a while and belongs to no one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such are the stakes Wednesday for Game 4 between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs. Do the Knicks pull somewhat comfortably ahead and increase their margin for error and their championship odds? Or do the Spurs regain home court advantage \u2014 for whatever that\u2019s worth \u2014 and change the conversation and momentum in this series?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chances are these questions will be answered by the composure of the young Spurs, their trapping defense on Jalen Brunson, whether Victor Wembanyama delivers like he did in Game 3, and a host of assorted adjustments by each team that will impact the outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are three things to watch during Game 4 on Wednesday in New York (8:30 ET, ABC<\/strong>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s quite possible that the best of Wembanyama is yet to come. That\u2019s because, over the last six quarters, he seems more comfortable in his skin and on the big stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Which means \u2014 is his signature performance upcoming, and if so, will it cause the Spurs to draw even?<\/p>\n\n\n\n This isn\u2019t to suggest Wemby has been perfect during this upward trend. There\u2019s the matter of his errant pass in the last moments of Game 2, followed by his missed jumper just before the buzzer of that Spurs loss. Otherwise, though, he has arguably been the best player on the floor, especially factoring in his impact at both ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This gradual growth is understandable. Wemby, like most of the Spurs, isn\u2019t a veteran at this. Yet his confidence never seemed to waver during tougher times and right now it\u2019s at an NBA Finals high, coming off Game 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think I got much, much better because watching film of the previous years, sometimes I was just shooting shots,\u201d he said, explaining his growth. \u201cEven still to this day. Sometimes it goes in. But the efficiency, the purposefulness is so much better now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s what Wemby has done well since his shaky Game 1.\u00a0Become more aggressive offensively, is no longer settling for too many 3-point shots and is wisely serving to cover the floor as much as possible defensively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for that last point, Wemby isn\u2019t guarding Karl-Anthony Towns exclusively. The Spurs are often using a smaller player on Towns, who tends to cement himself in the high post, and allow Wemby to guard someone else, such as Josh Hart. Therefore, if and when Towns decides to use his size advantage on the smaller defender and drive to the basket, Wemby can sneak over and apply help defense. This worked in Game 3 when Towns was limited in scoring production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So Wemby is maturing on this demanding stage, which was expected. But how high can he raise the bar? If he delivers something along the lines of 30 points, double-figure rebounds and five or so blocks Wednesday, that\u2019s problematic for the Knicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s important to note that Brunson has hit the biggest shots in this series \u2014 in the latter stages of the first two games, both Knicks victories. That must be emphasized, because the NBA Finals isn\u2019t about stats and cosmetics; it\u2019s about winning plays. And Brunson\u2019s clutch-ability trumps everything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, he needs to get a handle on his flow and especially his efficiency, because the Knicks found themselves digging out of deficits in all three games, partly because of Brunson\u2019s shooting troubles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If he gets hot at the start and stays hot, the Knicks\u2019 chances of winning increase dramatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\u2019s shooting just 37% in the series and 32% from deep. Also, he\u2019s taking 27 shots per game, more than anyone else on the Knicks. It\u2019s 81 total shots for 82 points. While Brunson is in the mold of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Don\u010di\u0107 in that regard \u2014 elite ball-dominant point guards whose scoring is essential \u2014 his inaccuracy is damaging because it takes opportunities away from Towns (who hasn\u2019t scored in the fourth quarter of the series yet) and OG Anunoby, both of whom are shooting far better in this series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s extremely important that he\u2019s getting touches, that he\u2019s involved, not just in the fourth quarter, but obviously throughout the ballgame,\u201d Knicks coach Mike Brown said regarding Towns. \u201cI got to continue trying to do a better job of getting him involved throughout the course of the game, as well as late.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s always a delicate balance between shooting and passing, especially with Brunson, who\u2019s averaging 4.3 assists in the Finals. He has as many turnovers as assists. Curiously, the last time the Knicks lost a game in the postseason, Brown asked Towns to be more of a facilitator from the high post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it\u2019s not a big ask of Brunson to look for his teammates more until he finds his rhythm. He has shooters around him \u2014 Towns, OG, Mikal Bridges and Landry Shamet. He can trust them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, he\u2019s going against a solid defense. The Spurs managed to keep Shai under wraps during the\u00a0seven-game West Finals. Stephon Castle is dogged and aggressive and athletic enough to make Brunson work for buckets. Plus, the Spurs are tossing additional defenders in his path, trapping whenever possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not anything different than what Brunson has seen since he became an All-NBA player. Still, for whatever reason, the shot\u2019s not falling as frequently as he\u2019d like. He can stick with the status quo, or make an adjustment. And live with the result one way or another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMost importantly, not turn the ball over,\u201d he said, regarding his Game 4 goals. \u201cGive my team an opportunity. Kind of in the middle. I\u2019ve played better, but also I\u2019ve played worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every so often, a player will come along and leave an imprint on the game that dictates a favorable outcome for his team. In the last few seconds of Game 3, that was De\u2019Aaron Fox,\u00a0whose jumper helped pump the brakes\u00a0on the oncoming Knicks and salvaged the win for the Spurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are the players who are due for a breakout performance in Game 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keldon Johnson, Spurs:<\/strong>\u00a0It has been a struggle for the\u00a02025-26 Kia NBA Sixth Man Award\u00a0winner. He\u2019s been quiet in this series so far, quite a change from the regular season when the Spurs benefited from his energy off the bench. Because Johnson has been so spotty, the Spurs are forced to use rookie Carter Bryant, who tends to make mistakes. Johnson must deliver more than 4.3 points, his average in this series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luke Kornet, Spurs:<\/strong> When Wemby sits, the Spurs suffer, and this must change for San Antonio. It starts with Kornet. When the backup center enters the game, the Knicks immediately attack him with Karl-Anthony Towns. Not only has Kornet suffered in that situation, but he\u2019s a non-factor offensively (one field goal attempt in three games) and surprisingly tame on the boards (three rebound average). Wemby needs an extended rest to prepare himself for the fourth quarter. The Spurs could use the Luke Kornet who was so instrumental off the bench for the 2024 champion Boston Celtics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dylan Harper, Spurs:<\/strong> The rookie has showed out in this series, scoring in double figures every game, and isn\u2019t afraid of the lights. That said, he settles too often for 3-pointers. If he facilitates better and attacks the rim instead of taking those deep shots, the Spurs will prosper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deuce McBride, Knicks:<\/strong> He\u2019s fully capable of triggering a run and serving as a change of pace guard off the bench. Yet he\u2019s also searching for his moment in this series, which hasn\u2019t happened. McBride is 2-14 shooting and averaging under four points. But if he gets rolling, as he tends to do, watch out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mitchell Robinson, Knicks:<\/strong> His defensive play against Wemby on the last few possessions in Game 2 helped the Knicks salvage a victory. Robinson can make that much of a difference defensively and on the boards. But: The Spurs will employ the hack-a-Robinson strategy on him and, as the worst free throw shooter in the league it\u2019s almost like a turnover when he gets to the line. Also, he\u2019s at his most vulnerable when he must check Wemby on the perimeter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There\u2019s a big difference between 3-1 and 2-2 in the\u00a0NBA Finals. The former is a show of dominance and an almost guarantee of a championship as far as history is concerned. The latter means this series will last a while and belongs to no one. Such are the stakes Wednesday for Game 4 between the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12903],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-415735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-12903"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415735"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":415736,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415735\/revisions\/415736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/6gnx6dd.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\n\n\n1. Wemby\u2019s continued upward trend<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n2. Brunson back on track<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
3. Who\u2019s the X-factor<\/h3>\n\n\n\n