Wednesday night's Game 4 should be viewed as a must-win for the New York Knicks, but not for the reasons one may think.
Yes, the San Antonio Spurs tying things up after being down 0-2 would certainly be a gut punch for the club, but it's what comes next that could make it a truly devastating turn of events for the Knicks.
Following this upcoming matchup, every game that follows will have two days of rest in between. What this means is the Spurs, who toughed out two deep series heading into the NBA Finals, would be given the luxury of added time off in between outings.
On top of this, San Antonio would officially get homecourt advantage back on their side, as they essentially would be making up for their two losses out at Frost Bank Center with two at Madison Square Garden.
Should the series end up extending to a full seven games, two more would be played out in the Lone Star State, while just one would be held on Seventh Ave.
So not only would the endurance edge for the Knicks be severely depleted, but the advantage they received from initially stealing the first two games of action on the road would be 86'd completely.
All things considered, Game 4 is shaping up to unequivocally be the most important game of this entire series for both ball clubs.
Knicks need Jalen Brunson to snap out of his funk in Game 4
To the surprise of many, the Knicks have managed to go up 2-1 in this NBA Finals matchup with their superstar guard, Jalen Brunson, playing absolutely abysmal basketball.
Sadly, this is no mere hyperbole.
Through three games played, the Knicks are producing less than a point per play and are shooting just 42 percent with Brunson on the floor against San Antonio. He has also recorded just as many turnovers as he has assists (13).
Perhaps the most perplexing finding of all is the fact that New York has actually lost its minutes with their cornerstone on the floor, while going on to win the time that he’s been found riding the pine.
Fortunately, the reality of this matter is that, despite his lackluster production, there's very little chance Brunson could be playing any worse than he is right now. From a "glass half full" perspective, he can only manage to go up from here.
Hopefully, the Knicks see this kind of upswing Wednesday night.
Add us as a preferred source on Google