If you made a list of ways in which the New York Knicks might neutralize Victor Wembanyama during the NBA Finals, the vast majority of inclusions would’ve spotlighted their offense. Some, meanwhile, would have emphasized their physical presence on the glass. Very few spaces on that list, though, would have been dedicated to their defense serving as a Wemby foil.
Lo and behold, this is exactly what New York has done.
Just so we’re clear, the Knicks have not entirely erased Wemby’s scoring impact. He’s averaging 27.5 points per game. They have, however, displaced him from his comfort zone around the basket—not just to a surprising degree, but more than any other San Antonio Spurs playoff opponent.
The Knicks have torpedoed Wemby’s volume around the basket
Here is a look at the share of Wembanyama’s shot attempts in the half-court that have come at the rim or inside the paint against each opponent, according to Pivot Fade:
- Versus Portland Trail Blazers: 43.7 percent
- Versus Minnesota Timberwolves: 43.9 percent
- Versus Oklahoma City Thunder: 58.9 percent
- Versus New York Knicks: 35.7 percent
The Knicks’ interior prevention is so far an outlier. Granted, it is more in line with Wemby’s regular-season marks. Around 36 percent of his half-court shots came at the rim or inside the paint this past year.
Even so, the degree to which Wembanyama is working off perimeter touches against New York remains extreme. Not only is his average shot distance of 14.1 feet his highest of any playoff series, but he’s being forced to create more of his own scoring opportunities.
Through the first two games of the Finals, 42.9 percent of Wemby’s half-court buckets have gone unassisted. That is dramatically higher than his marks against the Timberwolves in the semifinals (29 percent), and versus the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals (20.5 percent). It is also way higher than the share of his makes that went unassisted when facing the Blazers (36.7 percent).
This isn’t happening by chance. The Spurs could definitely do more to get Wemby paint touches, and proved as much during the second half of Game 2. But despite their bevy of downhill attackers, San Antonio isn’t teeming with what you’d call floor generals, or game managers. Wemby has to jump-start a lot of his own touches from the outside in, particularly with De’Aron Fox off the floor.
When he’s getting or handling the ball up the top, the Knicks’ help defenders are doing an excellent job sliding over from the nail. That has limited Wemby’s ability to puncture the paint on his own. New York has also made it difficult for the Spurs’ “others” to break the paint, and make decisions out of their own attacks.
New York may have created a problem San Antonio can’t solve
Mix in some quality defense from Karl-Anthony Towns and strong one-on-one stints from Mitchell Robinson, and you’ve got a recipe for warping Wemby’s shot diet in any given game. That blueprint might just graduate to an indefinite tool when you factor in the 22-year-old’s substantially heavier workload, and the inconsistent play from, specifically, Fox and Stephon Castle.
This isn’t to say the Spurs don’t have counters. They broke the seal more often in the second half of Game 2. Six of Wemby’s eight attempts at the rim came in the final two frames. San Antonio put him down low to start more possessions, and actively sought out entry passes and lobs.
Still, Wemby’s minutes aren’t about to go down. Nor will his defensive responsibility diminish. That type of workload will continue to grate away at his stamina. The Knicks are also proving well equipped at corralling towards the perimeter off his (no-contact) screens, and the Spurs will not suddenly need him to handle the ball less unless he’s always playing beside at least two of Fox, Castle, and Dylan Harper.
Little about this was predictable. Of all the ways these Knicks could supposedly disrupt and thwart Wemby, this wasn’t one of them—an unpredictability that makes it harder for San Antonio to counter.
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