One Key Adjustment Could Shift the Series Back to San Antonio

The Spurs entered the NBA Finals against the New York Knicks with a familiar defensive question: should they continue trying to stop Jalen Brunson at all costs, or should they stay home on the Knicks’ shooters and force Brunson to beat them alone? That dilemma has shaped the first two games of the series, and so far the Knicks have been able to punish the Spurs for too many help-defense mistakes.

In earlier playoff rounds, the Spurs’ approach of loading up on the opposing star worked better because Minnesota and Oklahoma City had different weaknesses. Anthony Edwards could be hesitant as a passer, and Minnesota also lacked one of its best targets in Donte DiVincenzo, who was out with a ruptured Achilles. Against Oklahoma City, the strategy was less clean because Alex Caruso caught fire from three. Even then, the Spurs adjusted midseries, shifting from over-focusing on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to guarding role players more tightly and making SGA carry the offense by himself. That adjustment helped them overcome a 3-2 deficit in the Western Conference Finals.

The Knicks present a tougher challenge. They have far more reliable shooting across the roster, which makes help defense much riskier. In the regular season, seven of New York’s top nine rotation players shot better than 36.8 percent from three on at least 3.5 attempts per game. The only rotation players who did not meet that mark are either not playing in this series or are bigs who still require attention near the rim. That means the Knicks can often put five above-average shooters on the floor at once, making every double-team potentially dangerous.

Brunson has been held to under 34 percent shooting for much of the series outside of crunch time, but that has not been enough because the Knicks keep finding open threes, especially from the corners. The Spurs’ help defense has repeatedly left shooters uncovered for just long enough to allow clean looks. In Game 2, those breakdowns were especially costly, with New York converting timely shots every time San Antonio briefly abandoned its assignment.

The shot chart from the series tells the story clearly: the Spurs need to let Brunson operate in the midrange while refusing to leave corner shooters open, particularly in the left corner. That area has become a consistent problem, and it is where the Knicks have generated several of their most damaging looks.

Defense is not the Spurs’ only issue. They have also failed to close games. In both Games 1 and 2, San Antonio led in the final two minutes before losing control in crunch time. Missed free throws have made the losses worse, costing them a combined 12 points. Those late-game mistakes, along with shaky decision-making under pressure, have put the Spurs in an 0-2 hole.

Still, the series is far from over. The Spurs have shown throughout the playoffs that they can adjust strategically, and they already proved in the previous round that a shift in defensive philosophy can change a series. With the pressure now on the Knicks and Game 3 approaching, San Antonio has a chance to respond, clean up its rotations, and force the series back in its favor.