Going against Victor Wembanyama in the paint is not the most ideal plan of attack. The Portland Trail Blazers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Oklahoma City Thunder have all shared this plan when facing the San Antonio Spurs but failed. The New York Knicks, on the other hand, have other plans. Coach Mike Brown is up 2-0 in the NBA Finals because of a big adjustment. OG Anunoby and Jose Alvarado unveiled what it was.
Anunoby and Alvarado unveil Knicks' plan to sweep Spurs through corners
The secret that the Knicks have been holding on to? Well, it's to own the corners on both sides of the ball against the Spurs. On offense, this is so that Victor Wembanyama does not get to affect their shot quality. On defense, it's to prevent actions like Zipper, 4-Out 1-In, and Hammer among others.
OG Anunoby outlined why the Knicks are following through with this change brought about by Coach Mike Brown, via Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic.
"First of all, it’s a lot of practice. A lot of shots. It opens up the floor. Us being in the corners spreads the floor open and it’s a great release valve for the offense," Anunoby declared.
True enough, the Knicks have escaped the Spurs in the past two NBA Finals games with this philosophy. Coach Brown saw his squad go 53.6% from those corners in the first two bouts of this series with the Spurs. More than that, they are also preventing Wembanyama and Co. from thriving in that area because the Spurs are just knocking down 32% of their shots from those same corners.
Jose Alvarado got honest about why this takes a bit of a toll on the Knicks, but his teammates persist because they are so close to winning the NBA Finals.
"It’s hard. That’s why we try to get in the paint and spray it out. It’s a tough task," the Knicks guard said.'
This means that Alvarado and the other Knicks guards or wings need to drive to attract defenders first before kicking it out to the open corner. Clearly, the Spurs will have a counter to this heading into Game 3. If the Knicks do retain this adjustment and keep hammering it down from the corner to limit Wembanyama's impact, they might just be your 2026 NBA champions.
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