These 3 Spurs deserve the most blame for San Antonio’s crushing collapse in Game 1

The San Antonio Spurs had a 14-point lead and still lost Game 1 of the NBA Finals by double-digits. As well and as resiliently as the New York Knicks have played throughout the playoffs, it was still a shocking collapse and one that will have the Spurs scrambling for answers before Game 2 on Friday.

The first and easiest answer is to simple make some shots. The first half of this game felt like a throwback to the slug-it-out 1999 NBA Finals matchup between the Knicks and Spurs, when only team was able to break 90 points in the entire series. Julian Champagnie was 5-of-10 from beyond the arc for the Spurs, but the rest of his teammates were 6-of-33, including a combined 2-of-11 from Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell. If just a few more open or semi-open jumpers had gone in, this could have broken very differently.

But the Spurs can’t count on shooting variance alone. Jalen Brunson was a hot mess for most of three quarters and progression to the mean could benefit the Knicks as well. San Antonio will need a lot more from their bench in Game 2, they’ll need to do better shutting down dribble penetration and they’ll need a lot more from these three playes who really struggled in Game 1.

3. Luke Kornet

One of the keys to the series for the Spurs is winning the minute when Victor Wembanyama is on the bench, or at least losing them by as little as possible. To be fair, they were outscored in Game 1 even when Wemby was on the floor but they were also minus-7 in the 10 minutes Luke Kornet took his place.

The second-half was when things fell apart — the Knicks outscored the Spurs by seven points in a two-minute span in the third quarter while Kornet was on the floor, followed by another four-point swing in under a minute in the fourth. New York was understandably cautious about attacking the paint when Wemby was on the court but 4-of-5 on shots inside of 14 feet, along with a trip to the free-throw for Mikal Bridge and an And-1 for Karl-Anthony Towns, against Kornet.

Even in the best-case scenario, Kornet is only going to give the Spurs a fraction of what Wemby can. But he has to make things harder for the Knicks in the glass and in the paint. And, again, if they had won their minutes with Wemby on the court, Kornet’s stints may not have stuck out so much. But New York understood the challenge and went right to the basket when Wemby was out. It fueled their second-half comeback and may have ultimately been the difference.

2. De’Aaron Fox

It’s hard to lay too much blame at the feet of De’Aaron Fox, given that he’s clearly still hampered by the ankle injury that already kept him out of two playoff games. Given Stephon Castl’s ongoing turnover problems, the Spurs absolutely need him on the court even if he’s not as explosive as usual, simply for experience and his steady hand as an initiator.

But the Spurs are also in big trouble if what they got from Fox in Game 1 is what they can expect going forward. He was 3-of-13 from the field, 0-of-4 from beyond the arc and turned the ball three times, including two in the crucial fourth quarter.

He missed open shots and settled for contested jumpers early in the shot clock. When he was able to get into the paint, he was eschewing physicality — fading away and avoiding contact instead of powering through it. Again, that’s all understandable given the nagging injuries but if this is what his body is giving him, he needs to adjust his style of play.

They need him to help run the offense but taking fewer shots — especially pull-ups with a defender right in front of him is going to be important. Fox is going to have to focus on scoring opportunistically and really making sure his primary goal against a set defense is mostly creating open shots for others.

1. Victor Wembanyama

Wembanyama, at 22 years old and in his first NBA Finals game, put up 26 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 3 blocks. Those are big numbers but they probably overstate his impact. He also had 6 turnovers, was 6-of-21 from the field, 2-of-9 from beyond the arc and did most of his scoring from the free throw line, where he was 12-of-13.

The Knicks found a way to play through his rim protection, scoring 50 points in the paint, including a combined 30 from Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson. At the other end of the floor, they were incredibly physical with Wemby, making sure he was never able to establish a rhythm with his jumper or attacking the basket. And in the end, the Spurs were plus-3 in the 37 minutes he was on the floor.

The Spurs have a deep and talented roster but they’re only beating the Knicks if Wemby is consistently the best player on the floor. That’s a lot to ask of a 22-year-old in his first postseason run, but we’ve already seen that he can be that player. He just wasn’t in Game 1.

The Knicks’ strength clearly bothered him on elbow touches, looking to drive against a set defense, and the Spurs may have to find other ways to get him touches on the move and with the defense already shifting. He’s also really going to need to resist the urge to put up so many 3-pointers. I imagine it’s an unbelievably warped decision-making paradigm when you’re a decent outside shooter and literally tall enough to launch, unbothered, over any defender. But a lot of his outside shots were forced and other, better, opportunities could might have been available if the Spurs kept running their offense.

The Knicks defense is going to be at least as challenging as what he faced against the Thunder in the last round. But he’ll have to be better and willing to adjust if the Spurs are going to even the series in Game 2.

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