In just a few hours, the Spurs will take the floor for Game 2 against the Knicks after dropping their first meeting. When Victor Wembanyama spoke to the media, he told reporters that he wasn't worried in "the slightest," and he has very good reason for that. San Antonio may have lost by 10 points, but the final score wasn't indicative of what was happening that night.
A big key to the Spurs losing Game 1 last night was missing TWENTY open 3 point shots. If the shooter has a few feet of space and no visual impairment of the rim as they begin the arm swing up, that's an open shot in my book. In the playoffs, they're shooting 30% on open 3s. pic.twitter.com/A8vw69sRgi
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) June 4, 2026
Some of these angles will make you believe that at least a few of these clips show contested shots being taken, but they're not. Each player has at least four to five feet of space, and for a professional basketball player, that's considered open. The Spurs were third in 3PT% during the season post all-star break, and they've been one of the best shooting teams in the playoffs, too. Those shots will fall.
That's just the tip of the iceberg for what should be a defiant Game 2 response from Mitch Johnson's ball club.
The Spurs are following a similar trend from previous rounds
San Antonio did much of what they set out to do against a New York team everyone told them was more physical. Despite taking ten more threes in Game 1, the Spurs shot more free throws than their opponent (25-18). That doesn't mean they were as forceful as they should have been. It does mean they executed part of their game plan that's been consistent throughout the postseason.
None of the teams the Spurs have faced shot more free throws than them. None of them have outrebounded the Silver and Black either. That was true again on Wednesday night (54-49). The Knicks grabbed 10 offensive boards, but the home team grabbed 14. Those are crucial areas of the game, and they help maintain control.
It's a significant reason why Wembanyama and company led the Knicks for 24 minutes of that game. Now, New York led for 22:27, so there wasn't a huge discrepancy there. However, San Antonio maintained a hold on the game for a significant portion of the time once the game settled. They merely let it slip during key moments while still giving themselves a chance to win.
That's not very different from how they lost Game 2 to Portland and Game 1 to the Timberwolves. The Spurs are almost following a script at this point. They always drop what should be a victory simply because they don't have it that night. Still, all signs point to the Spurs being the better team. That's why Wembanyama isn't worried, and fans shouldn't be either.
