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After 27 years, the Knicks are back in the NBA Finals, with a real shot to win an NBA championship for the first time in 53 years.
Standing in New York’s way is the 62-20 San Antonio Spurs and 7-foot-4 superstar Victor Wembanyama. Both teams have some familiarity with each other, as the Knicks defeated the Spurs in the NBA Cup championship game in December.
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The Spurs are coming off a highly competitive seven-game series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. New York has cruised through much of the playoffs, entering the Finals with an 11-game winning streak.
As we’ve seen in the NBA, these opportunities don’t happen often. Last year’s NBA finalists, the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder, did not repeat, continuing a recent trend of teams unable to get back to the finals. That adds more pressure for both teams to make the most of the moment.
Let’s dive into three keys to the NBA Finals opener on Wednesday night in San Antonio.
Forcing turnovers
The Spurs are a young team, and from time to time, that youth shows up in the form of turnovers. One of San Antonio’s weaknesses exposed during the conference finals was a tendency to cough up the rock. The Spurs had at least 15 turnovers in four of the seven games played against the Thunder. In the postseason, the Spurs have a turnover rate of 15.2 percent, which is ranked 11th out of 16 playoff teams.
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Specifically, Spurs guard Stephon Castle had some shaky moments, recording 11, nine and six turnovers in three different games against the Thunder.
Forcing miscues from San Antonio will also help New York’s offense. The Knicks can create transition scoring opportunities. New York thrived in the conference finals, scoring on misses and makes against the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the postseason, New York is averaging 1.32 points per possession on transition opportunities, per NBA Stats, the No. 1 scoring rate among all playoff teams. That would put less pressure on having to consistently create great looks in the halfcourt.
Paint touches
There’s no better rim protector in the NBA than Wembanyama. He led the NBA in blocks per game during the…
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Publish date : 2026-06-01 12:51:00
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