Been a while but just wanted to remind myself how f'n amazing Jalen Brunson was all through the playoffs this season. OG Anunoby, too, was letter perfect, did everything asked of him and made the tip in basket in Game Four that will cement his legend status in Manhattan for the rest of his days. Karl-Anthony Towns was really great in the first two games, then reverted back to dipshit Towns for the rest of the series but was still good enough/not damaging enough to make a worthy contribution. Mikael Bridges and Josh Hart were both up and down throughout the playoffs but were great teammates and made the plays needed of them. Landry Shamet and Mitchell Robinson were useful off the bench (Deuce McBride, not so much) and both (have already gotten) new contracts for next year.
As for the Spurs, I thought Coach Mitch Johnson did not have a good series, PG De'Aaron Fox struggled through injuries and just never found his game, 6th Man of the Year Keldon Johnson did not much in the series either, Julian Champagnie was up and down, thought he was better throughout the Western run but spotty at best in the Final. Wembenyama was good but not quite spectacular, Stephon Castle was pretty great except for his bouts of foul trouble, Dylan Harper shined out (though I think the perception that he was ready to take over the team was greatly exaggerated!), Devin Vassell was good but wasn't able to stop Brunson.
Basically all 5 games were the same: the Spurs would jump out to an early lead, Knicks would get it close by halftime; Spurs would jump back early in the 3rd and then the Knicks would dominate the 4th quarter. Only in Game Three (what Knicks fans will simply remember as "The Trump Game") were the Spurs able to score enough in the 4th to hold off the late Knicks charge. In the other four games, they weren't and Brunson owned them.
Where do they go from here? The Spurs are fine, they don't need to change anything. Another year of maturation (*) and a rematch with OKC are what they need to do next year. Everyone wants to trade Fox, and while that contract is daunting (and will have to be traded eventually), I think Fox is still in his prime and had a high ankle sprain in the playoffs, I think he's fine and can lead them deep into the playoffs again. Keldon Johnson was disappointing in the Finals but he's kinda perfect for this team, so I don't see a better replacement out there. This team is fine, no bold moves are necessary.
The Knicks had a uniquely soft run through the playoffs. I'm not saying they suck, I'm not saying they didn't deserve their championship--I'm just saying they got to run through the Sixers and the Cavs instead of grinding through the Celtics and Pistons. I think they would've beaten the Celtics and the Pistons but they would've had to work a lot harder. Making it to the Final in complete health is the main reason they won, I would say, and it's almost unimaginable that that could happen again next year. Will the Knicks repeat in the East? Not impossible, they are a hell of a squad, they will surely be in the mix, but I doubt it because the run, the health, they had this year was just too perfect to recreate.
But one last capper on the season: Jalen Brunson is the mother'f'n man and don't forget it.
(*) All year long the Spurs kept Wemby on a minutes limit and, well, they made the Finals. Personally, I'd keep his minutes low for another year, ramping up his minutes starting in March. Why not? No need to burn him out. The challenge in the west is the Thunder and staying healthy and....not much else. The plan worked better than expected this year, I'd give it another year before really throwing Wemby into the deep end.
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