19 years ago, Gregg Popovich took Mike Brown's inexperience and turned it into the San Antonio Spurs' greatest ally. 19 years later, Brown is doing the exact same thing to Mitch Johnson. It's a cruel example of poetic justice, as Brown's New York Knicks are exploiting every Spurs mistake.
With Johnson in his first NBA Finals, much as Brown was in 2007, the veteran head coach is taking the rookie's mistakes and turning them into a source of the Knicks' improbable success.
Johnson's mistakes during the 2026 NBA Finals have not only been understandable, but perhaps even inevitable. For one, he's placing a considerable burden on his top six players to play heavy minutes in response to his second unit's lackluster consistency.
Heading into Game 5, six Spurs players are averaging at least 31.0 minutes per game. Seventh is Keldon Johnson at 14.8 and eighth is Harrison Barnes at 8.5.
Some of that is a matter of necessity, as the Spurs' second unit has been underwhelming during this series. Brown has taken a different approach, however, seemingly calling on a new reserve to rise from the back end of the rotation and take on a signature role in a Finals game every time out.
Rather than lamenting what his usual suspects are or aren't consistently doing, he's created a revolving door of key second unit contributors. In turn, the likes of Jose Alvarado, Jordan Clarkson, and Landry Shamet have all stepped up along the way.
Mike Brown made perhaps the most important coaching decision of his career last night. pic.twitter.com/cKgXRzFan8
— Damien Peters (@DamienPetersNBA) June 11, 2026
Brown has readily decreased his starters' minutes to accommodate them.
Mike Brown is doing to the 2026 Spurs what the Spurs did to him in 2007
The greatest parallel between 2007 and 2026, however, is not the minutes. Brown, of course, has long favored deep rotations. The primary similarity is in how the veteran head coach is beginning to predict the tendencies of the fresh face.
For instance: Johnson has made a habit out of putting Victor Wembanyama on Jalen Brunson, which Brown has adapted to by improving New York's off-ball action. In Game 4, the Knicks capitalized on that adjustment with 15 made threes, as well as 12 points in the paint during the fourth quarter alone.
Brown has also adjusted to said strategy by pulling Wembanyama out to the perimeter when it's not necessarily his preference or intention. The most consistently successful approach in that regard has seen OG Anunoby getting the ball off of a swing pass that forces a Wembanyama close out.
Anunoby has timed his decisions all but perfectly during that time, with Brown empowering his star forward to either shoot or take Wembanyama off the bounce to finish with power at the rim.
Along those same lines, the Spurs have consistently attempted to pick Brunson up from 94 feet. Johnson has done an excellent job of throwing multiple defenders at the Knicks superstar, but Brown has adapted by featuring complementary playmakers, increasing the number of shot creators or screen-setters on the court depending on what the situation calls for, and running off-ball action while the Spurs are focused on containing Brunson.
Johnson is a phenomenal coach who will undoubtedly be back in the NBA Finals one day, but up to this point in the series, Brown has turned the tables and channeled his 2007 failure to create 2026 success.
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