Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images
Wemby, Don't Stray
For most of Game 1 against the Knicks, Mitch Johnson made a deliberate effort to keep Victor Wembanyama close to the rim defensively - primarily by switching him away from the paint at every available opportunity. But there were exceptions, and nearly every time Wembanyama drifted from the basket, San Antonio paid for it. A few examples from the clip:
Wembanyama is tempted to close out on a Josh Hart three, and Towns exploits his absence in the paint to grab an offensive rebound off a Keldon Johnson miss and convert the and-one.
Wembanyama is guarding Towns on the three-point arc. Towns passes to OG Anunoby, sets a ball screen for him, and Anunoby attacks the paint with no Wemby presence to deter him, finishing with a layup.
To open the game, Wembanyama was assigned to Towns, and playing him extremely tight beyond the arc. Twice, Towns took advantage, driving past him and finishing at the rim.
Heading into Game 2, Mitch Johnson will need adjustments. My prediction: Wemby's defensive minutes matched up against Towns' drop significantly.
Gortat Screens
Even when Wemby was near the rim, the Knicks weren't deterred. Here's a nice action from Jalen Brunson and Mitchell Robinson in the fourth quarter: Robinson flips the ball screen angle, Brunson initiates the drive, snakes the dribble, and jails his defender Julian Champagnie. Robinson continues moving and seals off Wemby's path to help with a Gortat screen, named after the Polish center who made this move his signature. Brunson's lane to the basket is wide open.
Chess Match
Here's what the coaches' chess match looked like on the final possession of the third quarter: McBride moves to set a screen for Brunson, but pulls back - the Knicks don't want his defender, Fox, to switch onto their star. Instead, Landry Shamet, guarded by Harrison Barnes, moves to set the screen, but the Spurs communicate, and Fox stays with Shamet while Barnes picks up McBride. The Knicks counter - McBride comes up to set the screen. But Brunson spots Shamet open on the wing, hits him, and that's when the defensive breakdown happens: both Barnes and Vassell collapse on Shamet, leaving Hart - Vassell's man - wide open in the corner. Shamet finds him, and Hart attacks the paint. McBride relocates to the corner, catches, and knocks down a tough three off the backboard.
Expect more of these layered adjustment sequences in Game 2 0move, counter-move, counter-counter-move.
A Historically Bad Shooting Night
Beyond any tactical breakdown, the primary reason San Antonio lost was historically poor three-point shooting in the second half of Game 1 - 2-of-19 from deep, 10.5%. The Spurs also turned it over eight times in the second half, compared to just one for the Knicks. The main fix heading into Game 2 is straightforward: shoot a respectable percentage from three.
Watch: the Spurs shooting woes in the second half of game 1: