As the NBA Finals matchup between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs came into focus, CBS Sports turned to two voices who know the stage well: former NBA Coach of the Year Avery Johnson, a Spurs champion as a player, and analyst John Gonzalez. Their verdict was that the Knicks have never faced anything quite like what San Antonio is about to throw at them — and it is not only Victor Wembanyama.
Johnson, who has watched Jalen Brunson torch defense after defense this postseason, said the Spurs' wing personnel present a problem unlike any the Knicks star has encountered. "The size of the Spurs wing players is unlike anything Jalen Brunson has seen," Johnson said. "Consistent size from the starters to the role players, and these guys are two-way players. They play extremely hard on both ends of the floor."
That, Johnson argued, is the path to slowing down a player nobody has truly stopped. "Jalen Brunson is special. The Spurs can't stop Jalen Brunson," he said. "We can't stop him, but we can slow him down, and we can slow down those role players. And that's the problem that the Spurs present unlike any of the other teams that they played against in the playoffs." The plan, he suggested, is to turn Brunson into "a math problem" by attacking him on defense with wave after wave of guard size — Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Dylan Harper and Keldon Johnson.
Gonzalez, for his part, made clear the Knicks earned this stage. He pointed to a historic run into the Finals. "Over this 11-game winning streak, they have the best point differential in NBA history," he said. "That's not just for the postseason. That is for the regular season and the postseason." New York steamrolled the Hawks, Sixers and Cavaliers to emerge with the best offensive and defensive ratings of the playoffs.
But like Johnson, Gonzalez kept circling back to the one matchup that has no clean answer. "You can't stop Victor Wembanyama. Nobody has an answer for Victor Wembanyama, as well as the Knicks are playing right now," he said. "It's an impossible task. There's nobody who can guard that guy, especially when he goes to the rim." Gonzalez said he would rather see Wembanyama settling for step-back threes than attacking downhill, where the 22-year-old becomes "a major problem."
Both analysts also flagged the Knicks' uncertainty at backup center. Mitchell Robinson broke his pinky and will play through it with a brace, but as a career poor free-throw shooter he is vulnerable to intentional fouling — leaving Brown to weigh smaller, less-tested lineups when Karl-Anthony Towns needs rest.
Asked for the series' hidden storyline, Johnson looked past the marquee names to New York's supporting cast — and to Mikal Bridges in particular. "If you can eliminate a Mikal Bridges, especially when you're double-teaming Jalen Brunson, that bodes well," Johnson said. "If you could play five against four, five against three, eliminate guys who are potentially threats offensively, that's going to be very helpful." Gonzalez agreed, recalling how Bridges went from a target of Knicks fans' frustration in the Atlanta series to a player who "couldn't miss a shot" as New York took off.
There was respect, too, for the symmetry of the matchup. The Knicks beat the Spurs in this season's NBA Cup final; now the two meet again with the title on the line, San Antonio back in the Finals for the first time since 2014 and New York chasing its first championship since the 1970s.
Both men ultimately leaned toward San Antonio's depth and size — but agreed on the bigger point. "We are the winners," Gonzalez said of fans getting this matchup. Game 1 tips Wednesday.
