Knicks vs. Spurs: 3 battlegrounds to watch in Game 2 and beyond, including the KAT-Wemby clash

The New York Knicks took home-court advantage in the NBA Finals with (another) win in Game 1. That is now 12 straight victories this postseason, making them one of three teams to win 12+ straight (2017 Warriors, 1999 Spurs). No matter the task, they've continued to add to an already historic playoff run — a run that is bringing them closer to a championship.

>All of the anticipation, questions and predictions led to some competitive hoops on the biggest stage in Game 1, which was a story of two teams going back and forth. The Spurs, while falling short, delivered a reminder of just how strong their defense can be over the course of 48 minutes. The Knicks continued to rely on their overall team buy-in, getting impact up and down the roster before Jalen Brunson brought the game home in the fourth.

>We're one year removed from Indiana winning Game 1 of the Finals at Oklahoma City. Boston won Game 1 of the 2022 Finals on the road. Both ended up losing Game 2 and the series. There is a lot of basketball left to be played. Let's look at three battlegrounds from Game 1 and what they could mean for the future of this series.

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Jalen Brunson's adjustments against Spurs defenseIt feels hard to talk about Game 1 without starting with Brunson. The Knicks' overall team effort gave Brunson the opportunity to close the door in Game 1. He slammed it shut. Some will point to his 12-of-31 shooting from the field as efficiency has become all the rage in the basketball diet of a great player. But make no mistake, effectiveness still has a seat at the table: Brunson had 13 points in the fourth quarter and made five of the Knicks' nine field goals.

>There's a level of confidence Brunson has to have to get this done on a night when he knows he doesn't have it going. A night when he has to trust the work and find ways to produce when his team needs him. That brings me to the back and forth of how the Spurs were looking to guard Brunson early and the adjustments he and the Knicks made throughout the game.

>It was clear the Spurs wanted to use pressure and activity to try to speed Brunson up: don't allow him to get to his spots, catch his cadence and lead the dance.

>They had comfort switching a lot of pick-and-rolls. Early in the game, the Knicks would work to clear a wing and the Spurs would work to keep Brunson's drives in that same direction. Even when Brunson wanted to reject the screen, the Spurs would hold their ground, working to slide on the side, funnel the drive, and take away his space. It helps when you have a big like Victor Wembanyama rotating from the block or the wing to deter a paint touch.

The fourth quarter was the payoff, but the work to counter came early for the Knicks and Brunson: New York worked to clear the wings on both sides of the floor. One, to give Brunson more room to attack. Two, to make it tougher for the Spurs to clearly send drives in one direction.

>Brunson himself adjusted by looking to go with more quick bursts, shifty moves and footwork versus pure power and drives. He used crossovers and spin moves to get where he wanted; he attacked from the middle, which allowed him to see where the late help was in the paint; he made an effort to lull the defense, get them off balance and then go. All of that was on display in a pick-and-roll with Mitchell Robinson in the fourth quarter. He had the patience to set up so Robinson could re-screen, saw Wembanyama but waited for Julian Champagnie to try to recover, kept him behind and turned the corner to finish (bonus points to Robinson for rolling into Wemby).

Going forward, the battle will be how the Spurs find ways to bother Brunson more, and how the Knicks work to make those adjustments tougher to guard.

>The Spurs were not afraid to fly around, rotate and switch, so the automatics may not be clear. It will be on Brunson to continue to poke at matchups and make some of the switches questionable, finding driving lanes, forcing the Spurs to help and getting them in rotations the Spurs don't want to make. If Brunson can add more blows before the finishing move, the Knicks will be tough to beat.

KAT vs. WembyA salute to Josh Hart and the impact he had, but we don't get to Brunson's heroics without the steady impact of Karl-Anthony Towns.

>Towns has delivered big-time impact for the Knicks time and time again this postseason, and there was no difference on the biggest stage of them all in Game 1. The Spurs actually started the game with Wembanyama matched up versus Towns. That allowed the Spurs to use Wemby in a drop with a late switch to peel out to Towns pops.

>The Knicks have tried to use Towns as a hub with off-ball movement around him. In theory, Wemby on KAT would allow the Spurs to navigate any screens with activity. KAT used those moments to drive the basketball early, setting the tone that maybe that matchup was not as tenable as the Spurs believed. He put his head down, delivered a blow and won.

The impact of that? The Spurs shifted Wembanyama onto Hart. While that was inevitably going to happen, the idea that the Knicks may have forced their hand a little earlier than expected stood out.

>Towns' defense on Wembanyama throughout the game was also key. He was physical without fouling, battling to contain drives, pushing catches out and holding his own. The block he had in the third quarter was a momentum shifter. He did his job in pick-and-roll, too, knowing when to contain in drop and when to mix in a switch and contain.

>The offensive rebounding whether against Wemby or a wing was needed. The effort and timing was one thing, but I think it tied into KAT's overall playoff run. Doing whatever the team needs. This wasn't KAT purely spaced at the 3-point line; he was working near the short corner, the block and dunker spot to put himself in a space to have an impact.

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>Towns has more than held up and worked to answer as many playoff questions as possible during this run. When he can do his job defensively and provide a consistent baseline offensively, it's just a different Knicks team.

>The secret sauce for the Knicks has been KAT attacking centers. Being able to spread that against the Spurs would be key. If he can mix in attacks versus wings, continue to be a hub and defend without fouling, it'll be a tough world for the Spurs to live in.

How the Spurs defense will try to dictate termsThe Spurs shot 36% from the field (their worst shooting performance all year) and still had a chance to win Game 1. Why? Their defense was stifling.

>There was a night-long battle between the Spurs and Knicks that will continue to play out. San Antonio working to switch, rotate and protect the paint. New York working to move the ball, drive and find openings.

>As quick as the Knicks looked to play to start Game 1, the key is their tempo in the half-court. San Antonio will move Wembanyama around the board and that can ding the overall Knicks attack. Off-ball movement gets met with physicality and denials. Handoffs become switches without an advantage. Drives get met with ball pressure or help. The openings can close quick, a driving lane just becomes a drive into Wembanyama. Want to attack a specific matchup? Good luck, as the Spurs will work to pre-rotate to try to dictate terms.

On top of their overall philosophy, it was interesting to see how the Spurs wanted to defend Brunson and KAT in pick-and-roll.

>Early on, in moments when Wembanyama was on KAT, he would be in drop to contain the drive with a peel switch to take away KAT's pop. There were moments where Wemby or Luke Kornet would start on a big and have a guard switch onto KAT. Once KAT rolled, the big would take the matchup back. Even when they had a wing on KAT, if he popped they would keep working to peel to not give up that 3.

As the game wore on, the Spurs adjusted to add more pressure, bringing Wembanyama up to the level of the screen and working to put two on the ball versus Brunson so he couldn't turn the corner. There was a twist and it once again pointed to the Spurs' rotations. They worked to pre-rotate from the wing to KAT's roll, recover to the wing with Wembanyama rotating to the block. It's a way for the Spurs to anticipate, and we will see if the Knicks can consistently make the Spurs pay.

>For San Antonio, having multiple answers for Brunson/KAT feels key. For New York, those rotations could provide them the key to additional offense.

If Game 1 is setting up what teams want to attempt, the beauty of Game 2 is what they look to add to their attack. Adjustments are all around, but who will be able to set the tone and put their foot down?

>Can the Spurs' defense play even better? Can the Knicks get Brunson and KAT going earlier? It will be fun to see who blinks first in this fascinating series.