Teams can't afford to squander home games in the NBA Finals, and the San Antonio Spurs did just that in Game 1. After dominating the first half, the Spurs went stagnant for much of the second half and gave the victory away to the New York Knicks. A -17 plus/minus in the second half resulted in a 105-95 final score. Jeremy Lin looked at Mitch Johnson's play-calling and decision-making as reasons for much of San Antonio's failures.
“I didn't love the late-game offensive game plan,” Lin said. “It was too much Wemby Iso. It just seemed like everything was difficult, everything was hard, everything was contested. Can we get him in more spontaneous, impulsive actions? Can we get him in some pin-downs? Can he set more screens? Can guards come set screens for him?
Jeremy Lin heavily criticized Mitch Johnson and the Spurs’ fourth-quarter offense in Game 1, questioning the heavy reliance on Wemby isolations and the team's rotation choices:
“The focus for sure is the second half where they were minus-17, but specifically even in the fourth… pic.twitter.com/Us7yyY30Ym
— NBA Base (@TheNBABase) June 4, 2026
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The Spurs got away from what was working in the first half and instead started force-feeding the basketball to their best player. While Victor Wembanyama has proven he is ready for the biggest moments, San Antonio's offense became predictable, and Karl-Anthony Towns did an admirable job of guarding the new face of the NBA in isolation. Lin was also disappointed in Keldon Johnson's usage and Johnson's rotation.
“Another piece that is important is Keldon Johnson, who played only eight minutes,” Lin continued. Sixth Man of the Year, [and] a lot of minutes went to Harrison Barnes.”
Johnson was the most productive bench player in the NBA this season, yet he was glued to the bench in Game 1. While Barnes does have championship experience, which likely afforded him a bigger role early in the series in the eyes of Johnson, it was baffling to see a versatile player who can take some of the scoring pressure off Wembanyama be stuck on the bench. Clearly, things will need to change in San Antonio's next home game.
Teams can't afford to squander home games in the NBA Finals, and the San Antonio Spurs did just that in Game 1. After dominating the first half, the Spurs went stagnant for much of the second half and gave the victory away to the New York Knicks. A -17 plus/minus in the second half resulted in a 105-95 final score.