Just like Willie Nelson, the Spurs are back on the road again, as their partitioned Rodeo Road trip comes to an end. They have only two opponents left before getting a lengthy home-stand, and the New York Knicks are the first team on the docket.<\/p>\n
Technically, the Spurs are 1-0 versus the Knickerbockers, but remembering the sting of the NBA Cup Final, I think it\u2019s safe to say that Spurs fans know better than that. Both games have had razor-thin margins, as the Knicks have served as a foil to Wemby and Company since Christmas of 2024.<\/p>\n
One of the reasons for this is that the Knicks have size, and are consequently one of the better rebounding teams in the league (6th), which negates one of San Antonio\u2019s advantages (3rd) over most opponents, especially as the Knicks are particularly good at offensive rebounding (5th), which is a big part of why they\u2019re 6th in league in 2nd chance scoring.<\/p>\n
This has been a common theme for squads that have been able to trouble the Spurs, and they\u2019ve really cracked down on giving the opposition easy points and second chances, which is why they now rank 3rd in the league in preventing 2nd chance scoring, and in preventing opponents from scoring off of turnovers.<\/p>\n
That the Knicks (4th) and the Spurs (5th) are also now both in the top 5 for limiting their own turnovers further confirms that neither team is likely to gain an advantage in this area.<\/p>\n
The two teams also carry an almost identical net rating (San Antonio 4th, Knicks 5th), with the Knicks showcasing the better offense (3rd in offensive rating) and the Spurs continuing to display the superior defense (3rd in defensive rating).<\/p>\n
So, it appears that difference will once again come down to suffocating the Knicks on the perimeter, as the Knicks rank 23rd in points in the paint, and the Spurs rank 2nd in preventing points in the paint.<\/p>\n
And while much of modern NBA success is predicated on three-point conversion, the Knicks are a particularly nasty group of sharpshooters, ranking 4th in three-pointers made and three-point percentage, despite ranking 9th in attempts.<\/p>\n
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns adds a particularly nasty wrinkle on the defensive end, as arguably the premier stretch-five in the league, with a career percentage from 3 just decimals away from forty percent.<\/p>\n
Towns getting hot from outside completely alters the way teams defend the Knicks, and could end up pulling Wemby away from the rim he so zealously protects from interior violation.<\/p>\n
That being said, these are not the Spurs that the Knicks faced in the NBA Cup. They\u2019re hotter than any team in the league right now, riding a 10-game winning streak after thumping the East-leading Pistons along the way, and they\u2019re no longer in the prolonged shooting slump of January.<\/p>\n
Over the last 10 games, the Spurs lead the league in scoring, +\/-, offensive rating, defensive rating, net rating, assist-to-turnover ratio, True-Shooting Percentage, Limiting Free Throws, and are 2nd in Points in the Paint, FG%, and Effective FG%.<\/p>\n
With the exception of some free-throw issues against the Toronto Raptors, they are quite literally playing their best basketball.<\/p>\n
The Knicks, on the other hand, have been yo-yo-ing back and forth over the same stretch, as their offense seems to be experiencing a bit of the drop-off (12th) that ailed the Spurs earlier in the year, and they\u2019ve been passed in the standings by the Jayson Tatum-less Boston Celtics.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s sure to be a packed house with Wemby back in the Garden (maybe he\u2019ll get a game or two of chess in first), and both teams are still chasing teams ahead of them in the standings for the all-important playoff seeding.<\/p>\n
If it\u2019s anything like the last several meetings between these squads, it should be quite the show. And with minimal injuries, we should get close to the best version of both rosters.<\/p>\n
But if I absolutely had to bet on it, I\u2019d be sure to bet on the Spurs. There\u2019s something brewing there.<\/p>\n