The New York Knicks have a commanding 2-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs, taking both games on the road.
The man in the middle, Karl-Anthony Towns, has had a ton on his plate in this matchup, having to guard Victor Wembanyama and attack him on the other end.
Through two Finals games, the former Kentucky product is averaging 19.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, and four assists per game. With Jalen Brunson’s shooting struggles, Towns has been the best player in the series thus far.
We’ll take a look at Towns’ two-way play and how the Knicks as a unit sold out on giving Wembanyama fits.
Karl-Anthony Towns Attacking His Matchup
Towns provided counters to Wembanyama’s defense. The former Kentucky product has shot 7-for-12 with the 7-foot-4 Frenchman as the primary defender.
Wembanyama aggressively closes out air space on Towns. But once Towns feels Wembanyama is no longer squared — body in front of the ball — Towns puts the ball on the floor for a straight line drive to the cup.
Knicks get creative — going with an inverted pick-and-roll where Brunson is the one who sets the screen for Towns.
Again, Wembanyama is up on Towns, even 35 feet from the basket. Towns rejects the screen — going away from Brunson because he sees Wembanyama playing the screen. The moment Towns sweeps the ball towards Wembanyama’s outside hip, it’s a blow-by drive for Towns that results in a beautiful side-step floater.
The former 2015 number one overall pick also displayed excellent passes.
Mikal Bridges sets a rip screen for Brunson — a screen for a player to cut to the basket. The Spurs switch, but Towns makes a great read, immediately feeding Bridges in the paint because the defender was on Bridges’ high side.
What makes this read incredible is that the intent is for Brunson to cut, which he does. Bridges ends up also cutting because of the switch.
Towns makes another play where he gets himself out of a jam.
After Towns sets the screen to get De’Aaron Fox on him, Towns gets the ball thrown towards him down low. Fox fights for position, deflects the ball, and the play breaks down. Somehow, Towns collects the ball back and makes an amazing wrap-around pass to Bridges for a wide-open triple while four white jerseys converge on him.
The NBA Finals MVP So Far Is Karl-Anthony Towns
Towns put on a clinic defensively. Incredibly surprising, he’s playing some of his best defense at 30 years old.
The veteran has held Wembanyama to just under 37 percent from the field on 19 shots as the closest defender. The Knicks have also played straight up — staying home and trusting Towns to hold his ground.
Towns has also committed only four fouls, which is unbelievable considering he was second in most fouls committed this year.
In the battle of former number one overall picks, Towns has run away with it.
It’s a broken play for the Spurs offense. Bridges and Towns communicate that Towns will pick up Wembanyama as he flashes to the middle of the floor. As Wembanyama catches the ball, Towns aggressively goes for a swipe and still contests the shot. Knicks win the possession with a Wembanyama fallaway shot with the shot clock winding down. Everyone stays home on their man to prevent an open three-pointer.
On this play, Towns gets terrific help on the perimeter as the ball doesn’t get inside the arc until Wembanyama gets a touch.
On the face-up, Towns anticipates Wembanyama spinning back to his left and Jose Alvarado provides aggressive gap help to get the dribble picked up before recovering back to his man. Still on an island, Towns puts up an excellent challenge, as Wembanyama has to try to bank the shot from the left elbow.
Knicks’ Defense Is Neutralizing Victor Wembanyama
The Knicks defensive unit has found something to contain Wembanyama’s rolls to the basket: they are bumping him with the closest off-ball defender.
Brunson bumps Wembanyama from the pick-and-roll action here:
As a result, the roll is eliminated, and the Spurs are out of control on the rest of the possession. Mitchell Robinson can now commit to protecting the rim and force a kick-out pass. The Knicks give the Spurs a taste of their own medicine as Dylan Harper doesn’t look to score at the rim. Spurs commit a live-ball turnover which finishes with Brunson’s stutter-step lay-in.
Here’s another example:
There’s a ton of moving parts to this sequence. Spurs go to a horns set — a double pick-and-roll with the corners filled with shooters.
Again, Brunson gets in Wembanyama’s pathway to delay his roll. Towns keeps Stephon Castle out of the lane, and while Castle creates space, he can’t knock down the elbow jumper.
The biggest key to the “bump” man is that he must be able to recover to his assignment after contacting Wembanyama’s roll.
With Robinson keeping Castle out of the lane, someone must tag Wembanyama’s roll. So, actually, both baseline defenders — Bridges and Alvarado — sink in. Driving right, the harder pass for Castle is to get the ball to Fox on the weak side, but Alvarado closes out that passing lane.
Now since that’s eliminated, Bridges’ man — Keldon Johnson– can do two things: he can stay stationary in the corner for a catch-and-shoot three-pointer, or he can cut. Johnson chooses to cut, and what Bridges does an amazing job of is splitting the difference.
Bridges blows up the play by first tagging Wembanyama on the roll and then immediately closes the space on a cutting Johnson to eliminate an easy layup. Robinson is right back in the picture to support Bridges, and collectively, they protect the basket for a block and rebound.
Sweep or a Fight Back?
Wembanyama must have answers for Karl-Anthony Towns’ two-way play, and the Spurs offense has to counter the Knicks defense when they bump Wembanyama on the roll.
As of right now, the Knicks are on schedule to win this Finals with Towns on pace to hoist up the Finals MVP.
Leave a comment