3 Things Victor Wembanyama’s Spurs Need to Do to Push NBA Finals to Game 7

Superstar center Victor Wembanyama and his San Antonio Spurs looked lost after ‘choking’ a 29-point lead in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden.

It was a natural expression, considering they were completely in command of the battle against the New York Knicks, at least until the strike of halftime.

From the moment both teams re-emerged from their locker rooms for the remaining two quarters, it was as if the Spurs knew they would coast to a win. That was the start of their problems, as the Knicks slowly knifed through the lead every possession. They stepped up their defensive pressure, and a small change to the lineup left the away team confused.

That confusion grew over time. Yet, they did not change the manner in which they played. Victor Wembanyama and his team were so sure that they would outlast the Knicks that they did not flinch.

They were tired, but not wavering from their game plan. Ultimately, it all worked out for nothing. The Knicks capitalized on the Spurs’ mistakes and eventually found themselves within striking distance of a famous win.

Still, the San Antonio-based team did not change how they defended the Knicks. Bouyed by the passionate and hostile crowd, the home team managed to complete the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history.

Now, trailing 1-3, the Western Conference champions are in a difficult spot. First, they have to muster up the confidence to ensure they do not lose Game 5 in front of their home fans. Then, they can think about possibly doing what the Knicks did to them. But to do the unthinkable and win from this position, the Spurs have to fix a few things.

Victor Wembanyama needs to pin himself to the paint

Sure, the San Antonio Spurs managed to score three-pointer after three-pointer in the first half. But that also became their undoing in the second.

Living and dying with the long ball has already ended the Boston Celtics’ postseason run, who are notorious for jacking up too many three-pointers.

Head coach Mitch Johnson could have remembered that, at least when the shots were not falling later in the game. Moreover, Victor Wembanyama was doing the same, and so far that has proved ineffective.

Sure, he can have the odd buzzer-beater or a long three. But the man is 7’4″, and has a wingspan unlike any other player in the league. The least Johnson could have done was to send the Frenchman into the paint and instruct him not to leave it.

Ever since the Finals started, analysts have been pointing out how the reigning Defensive Player of the Year needs to impose his will in the paint.

Pulling him out away from it has had a two-pronged effect on the Spurs. Neither are they able to contain the Knicks’ interior game. Nor is Victor Wembanyama able to stop fatigue from hampering his effort late in the contest.

If they want him to dominate games, Johnson has to stop with the threes. Make it occasional, and ensure his leading superstar gets all the support from his teammates.

Victor Wembanyama needs his teammates

On the topic of support, Victor Wembanyama is definitely a generational basketball player. But without that support, no great player has been able to conquer the biggest stage of all.

Just as Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, and others have that one regret in their careers, and that is that they did not do enough to lift a Larry O’Brien trophy. Therefore, as much as the focus is on the superstar center to perform, the Spurs need the rest to step up. Sure, rookie Dylan Harper and second-year pro Stephon Castle have been great in the offseason.

But the one missing person from this entire series has been De’Aaron Fox. Forgetting his brain freeze moment in the dying seconds of Game 4, the veteran guard has been non-existent in the four games against the Knicks.

The franchise handed him a four-year, $229 million extension to be Victor Wembanyama’s wingman. So far, he has played like the fourth or fifth option. If the Spurs are to stop these NBA Finals from ending early, Fox has to step up. Not only does he need to score a lot more points, but he also needs to do so efficiently.

On top of that, the Kentucky alum has to play the role of the veteran. He is the one who needs to keep his younger teammates in check. That is a lot more difficult when he is the one who committed an egregious mistake. But they still have time, and Fox can improve.

Spurs need to make better decisions late in the game

Staying on De’Andre Fox, the guard’s decision may have been imprinted in the minds of basketball fans, but his layup attempt was not the only mistake the Spurs committed.

Other than the fact that the team should have disregarded the three-pointer and fought for points inside the perimeter, other factors allowed the Knicks to claw back at their deficit. In fact, these problems have plagued the Spurs in all three contests they have lost. They take a lead, only for the Knicks to gain the upper hand in the second half.

One of the primary causes for that is how many seconds’ worth of possession the Spurs hand over to their opponents. In Game 4, it was way too much, as the players came down the floor, jacked up a three without milking time off the clock.

If they had a hot hand, why not take advantage of it and give less time on the ball for the Knicks to respond? Secondly, throughout this series, it was the Knicks who managed to be physical and impose their will.

The Spurs have tried to be physical in a different sense. But when playing against Jalen ‘Big Body’ Brunson and the rest, it takes a different kind of physicality to wear them down. It is the Knicks who are playing to their strengths. They are fresher, are playing with more physicality, and are making the Spurs run rings around them.

All of that is just making it easy for them, where they are mixing things up on the fly and coming back to win games. If the Spurs want to turn this series around, they need to fix these problems.

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