There's a statistic floating around that the Teams that swept their previous round are 20-4 when facing one that just went seven games. Those are the circumstances the Spurs are fighting in this NBA Finals vs. the Knicks, who made quick work of Cleveland, while the Silver and Black went blow for blow with the (no longer) defending champions.
"The Cavs had played 4 more playoff games by the time they got to the Knicks. The Spurs have played four more playoff games than the Knicks. At some point, it's going to matter." - Brian Windhorst
It won't matter. This is the second-youngest team ever to make the NBA Finals, and they just got three days off. That's enough time for a bunch of guys only averaging between 30 and 33 minutes a game during this postseason run. Everyone has harped on San Antonio's inexperience, expecting it to be their downfall, but it's actually their youth that will power them through this finals run.
Victor Wembanyama tells me he has prepared so well physically for this playoff run with the Spurs, that he feels like he could « play these series against the Knicks, and even one more after ».
— Maxime Aubin (@MaximeAubin1) June 2, 2026
The Spurs have turned their youth into an advantage
Wemby averaged 37.7 minutes a game against OKC—the most among his teammates during the series—but those numbers are slightly skewed because of the double-overtime game in Game 1. Looking at the whole picture, you'd think the Spurs were riding him for nearly 40 minutes a night, but when you isolate games 2-7, he lands at 35.9. That's nowhere near too many for a 22-year-old.
Sure, the Alien played 41 minutes in Game 7, but he only played 28 in Game 6. There will also be two days off between each city change, breaking up the every-other-day schedule the players had grown accustomed to. So, if you're counting on the Spurs to wear down, you're wishing on a star.
Windy was only the latest to are allegedly supposed to be worried about, but I have news for the people: the Spurs are not the Cavaliers. This team has repeatedly shown everyone that they're different, but for some reason, people continue to throw all of these stats at them about why they can't overcome, even though that's what they've done all season.
"Look at what they did to Cleveland" shouldn't be the basis for any argument when discussing this series. The Cavaliers turned themselves into a joke the moment they traded for James Harden, believing he'd give them what they needed to get that organization over the hump. It was delusional, and everyone not rooting for that franchise knew it, so let's not pretend they were some juggernaut now.
The Spurs started the season with a bang by destroying the rival Dallas Mavericks and then winning a franchise record five straight to start the year. They're going to end it with another banger as the youngest group to pull off a title run since 1977, changing that 20-4 stat to 20-5 at New York's expense.
