If we learned anything from the San Antonio Spurs in June, it’s that this is not the franchise we saw when Gregg Popovich coached there.
The Spurs blew three games they should have won, and crumbled in the fourth quarter nearly every game, including in Game 5 Saturday night, which means that former Blue Devil Mason Plumlee will not get a ring in what may be his final season.
The truth though is that there is no way to argue that the Spurs deserved to win. The Knicks, however, certainly did, and not least of all Jalen Brunson. He was magnificent again in Game 5. He’s relatively normal, athletically speaking. He’s not like Ja Morant or Anthony Edwards. He has to rely on hard work and smarts, and in the end, the Spurs couldn’t begin to counter him. No one is more deserving.
Part of the problem for San Antonio was simply youth. Their three foundational pieces, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and Victor Wembanyama, are all under 22. It’s astonishing that a team that young got that far, really.
Those guys are the rising Big Three for the Spurs. The rest of the team? Who cares? No one else is indispensable. Let’s see what the front office does in the next few weeks to shore up Wemby, Castle, and Harper. It’s probably asking too much, but with Jaylen Brown allegedly on the trading block, that’s a fun potential move.
Whatever it is, they’ll have to do something. Devin Vassell and De’Aaron Fox are clearly insufficient. One thing they could use is a bruiser to help protect Wemby. With the 20th pick, the Spurs could choose between guys like Jayden Quaintance, Joshua Jefferson, Koa Peat and Tarris Reed, all of whom could be useful rebounders, defenders, and enforcers.
As for the Knicks, what an amazing run. As Brunson said in his postgame interview, this team just found a way. It’s a tired comment that most teams say after winning, but it’s never been more true. The Spurs buckled in multiple games, but New York was ready to take advantage of their mistakes and miscues. When it started to happen again Saturday, you kind of knew what was going to happen. The Spurs are just too young and inexperienced to make winning plays.
Give them a couple of years, though. They are not going anywhere, and as painful as this loss is, they’ll learn from it.
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