San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama thrived on the defensive end against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference finals. The Spurs utilized Wembanyama in a defensive scheme where he roams around the paint while the rest of the team plays man-to-man.
It worked well for the Spurs since Isaiah Hartenstein wasn't a threat from outside this season and in their series. The Thunder center only had one 3-point attempt in their series against San Antonio.
Additionally, the Spurs didn't give Chet Holmgren any thought. San Antonio felt comfortable leaving him open despite his lifetime 3-point shooting percentage of 36.9%. He shot 27.3% in the conference finals, a weakness the Spurs exploited.
The Spurs' Zone Defense With Victor Wembanyama Won't Work Against the Knicks
The Spurs have used that defensive strategy since the start of the postseason. However, former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson said that it might not be effective against the New York Knicks.
"Victor Wembanyama dominated the paint on defense during the Series against OKC while playing in a zone, but that won’t work against the Knicks given the 3-point shooting ability of Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby," Johnson said.
The Knicks have Karl-Anthony Towns, one of the best shooting big men in the league. This year, KAT is shooting a career playoff best 48.9% from outside. For his career, Towns has shot an efficient 39.7% from deep during the regular season, 37.5% during the playoffs.
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Even Knicks forward OG Anunoby has been a reliable outside scorer, knocking down 48.3% of his attempts this postseason.
The Spurs could be forced to make Wembanyama leave the paint, which will allow the Knicks to penetrate the perimeter defense. In the past series that San Antonio has played this year, the team never dealt with a player like Towns, a big man who's a scoring threat from everywhere on the floor.
San Antonio may attempt to switch up their defensive lineups by using Wembanyama to guard Josh Hart. He's the least consistent outside shooter for the Knicks and has struggled in the playoffs.
Hart is a 30.3% shooter from 3-point range this year. However, he has shown that he can be a reliable scorer. Hart shot 34.6% against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference finals and had his best shooting performance in Game 2. He scored 26 points on 5-for-11 shooting from deep.
On Sunday, the Knicks forward expects the Spurs to assign Wembanyama as his defender.
"That’s the only unanimous Defensive Player of the Year guarding me — that’s a good sign for me. I’m. A pretty good player," Hart said.
Wembanyama and the Spurs have not revealed how they will counter the Knicks' 3-point shooting. Game 1 of the NBA Finals will be on Wednesday at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio (8:30 p.m. ET).
