Jalen Brunson does not possess the physical talents of many other NBA players. Not a leaper, certainly not the tallest and not the quickest. But he is the best prepared and the hardest worker. It’s his footwork – so practiced for every move and he seems to add to his repertoire every off season.

SU did feel he was taking too many shots over the first 3 games of the series with the Spurs and that perhaps San Antonio was perfectly happy with that. But Brunson figured something out the last 2 games and carried the Knicks to the championship. Especially in game 5 where KAT had 2 points and the bench produced almost nothing. 45 points is Jordan-like and the Knicks needed every one of them. You wonder if the Spurs regretted not sending 2 defenders at him for the entire 4th quarter to make him give up the ball? Brunson is truly the finisher and the closer.

SU had a few observations on this series:

1. Wemby is a generational player and the NBA will build around him going forward. Unique talent, international, only 22. He is what the doctor ordered. However, he is a bit of a dirty player. Some of that is having defenders lean on him constantly and getting frustrated. But he also likes to flail his arms and elbows and the League needs to control that.
2. You can say that the officials let the players play in game 5 and swallowed their whistle in large part. SU would say they missed so many calls and allowed things to get too physical. Even the announcers were commenting on that. For the NBA, you want the free flow of movement and the high scoring. SU does too. But you need to maintain that level of consistency in the playoffs. There was a play in the last minute where Brunson was hounded moving sideways at half court. Harper fouled him 2-3 times and there was no call. Almost had a back court violation. Harper in particular as well as Castle are excellent defenders but their actions crossed the line and were fouls. Refs allowed that all series. The NBA needs to clean that up for next season.
3. Wemby got away with throwing Brunson to the ground in game 3 and then stepping into his landing area in game 5. Both were non-calls. If there had been a game 6, he should have been suspended and that play reviewed to upgrade it to a flagrant. SU was curious if they would have had the backbone to do that.
4. The Spurs are young and super talented. It’s easy to say that they will win it all next year – maybe they will. But no guarantees and they need to figure out who is the “man” at the end of games. They led in the 4th quarter every game. They were great in the 1st quarter but really fell short late.

Just a great playoff run for the Knicks who are a true team. No doubt off season free agency will weaken this roster but hopefully any new additions will buy into what they are doing there. Mike Brown deserves tremendous credit. He was not close to their first choice as coach but the Knicks brass lucked into getting him. He used the regular season to figure out who could excel in the playoffs and got the players to check their egos at the door. In the today’s NBA, well, no one is doing that.

SU has never blamed the refs for wins or losses. It’s an easy trap to fall into when your team is losing or you fall short in a big game. The Knicks lost game 3 in New York and yes, you can certainly point to the free throw disparity in the 2nd half (24 for the Spurs vs. 8 for the Knicks). To Mike Brown’s credit, he did not say that the Knicks were not fouling. But he was wondering if the Spurs somehow were not fouling in a game where they played very physical defense. What is going on here? SU has the answers for you:

1. Apparently, the way it works is that different refs are used for each playoff game. I believe they are paid a bonus for being selected to work the finals and therefore, it’s financially rewarding for multiple refs to work the games. SU wonders if having so many different refs creates different environments for calling fouls as let’s face it: a foul in one game is not always a foul in another game. Might it be different if the same refs called the entire series? Something to consider.
2. The Spurs have been playing very physical defense in all 3 games as SU has pointed out. Their guards pick up at half court or even full court on Brunson. He is bumped, grabbed, pushed – no calls. What happens in basketball is that the aggressor is rewarded for being aggressive with no fouls called. It’s wrong, it’s not fun to watch and in the end, the teams that play motion offenses are hurt. It makes the games unwatchable and it’s not what we see in the regular season. And Wemby gets away with flailing elbows and no calls. He tossed Brunson to the ground at one point – no call. Mike Breen even said in the 2nd quarter that the refs had to get the game under control as it was so physical. We all see it. A foul in January is a foul in June.
3. But here is the bigger issue for the Knicks. Brunson is taking 25 – 30 shots a game, and KAT is marginalized on offense. In fact, the Spurs are putting a smaller player on KAT to prevent him from getting the ball up high and being able to orchestrate from there. To do that, they grab and hold him – no calls ever. BUT… the problem for the Knicks is that Brunson is just dribbling out the clock at mid-court and then going one on one. The Knicks only had 18 assists last night. Way too much of this offense. Way too Brunson-centric and they are going to lose the series if it continues. He is getting his points but they come at the expense of his teammates who are not getting in any type of rhythm. SU expects this to change in game 4 which now becomes a very crucial game for each team.
4. The playoffs are all about adjustments game to game. Brown will surely do that now and the refs will start to call fouls on the Spurs in the 1st quarter for the grabbing and holding. SU is old and I have seen it before. Ask Phil Jackson.

SU fully expects the Knicks to win game 4. If you think about it, the Knicks played poorly for 3 of the 4 quarters last night and still almost won the game. The Spurs cannot play much better. On the other hand, the Spurs have outplayed the Knicks for the majority of minutes across the 3 games, and the Knicks are fortunate to be up 2-1. Change the Brunson-dominant offense and all will be well.

Thoughts? Or did the Knicks get jobbed and Brunson is the star and needs to be the focal point? The floor is open.

SU was emotionally prepared to see the Knicks lose game 1 of this series as a week and a half layoff is ridiculous for athletes who are used to playing every other day. Predictably, their shooting was way off most of the game, and the rust showed. Jalen Brunson took 31 shots (more on that later) with only a third finding the mark. But they rallied from a 14-point defiicit in the 3rd quarter (hey, this is the NBA where no lead is safe ever) and executed better down the stretch. Here is what stood out to SU:

1. The Spurs are really young – certainly for the guys that play. They are fast, athletic and some love to trash talk (looking at you Harper and Champagnie). Btw: I know it’s the NBA and there is a lot of trash talking all the time but please shut up. Champagnie had a lot to say in the 1st half when he was red hot from 3 but not as much yapping in the 2nd half when he scored 1 point and did not hardly even shoot. One thing about the Knicks: they go about their business for the most part. SU does not see much trash talking from this team. I know: I am old school and a dinosaur but just play the game the right way. Not so much to ask.
2. Who is the Spurs’ go to guy down the stretch in a close game? Wemby is a superstar who is still learning but not sure you clear out to let him do his thing just yet. Something to watch in this series.
3. SU hated Brunson taking 31 shots. This Knicks’ team is at its best when the ball is moving and they are running. Sure, he was Captain Clutch in the 4th quarter although at one point you could see him shooting them out of this game when he missed 4 in a row.
4. KAT and Hart were outstanding. Hart is so good rebounding, defending and pushing the ball up the court. The points are a bonus although if he can hit a few 3’s, the series is over. KAT played a complete game and avoided racking up the dumb fouls.
5. Note on refs: SU knows this is incredibly hard. These guys are flying all over the place and the game is so fast. But… in the 1st half the Knicks were driving to the basket regularly – including Brunson – and had 1 foul shot for most of the half. Ridiculous. Call the game evenly. SU will never blame a win or loss on the refs but they seem to be influenced by the home crowd sometimes.
6. I know physical play is the norm in the playoffs but as a fan, do I enjoy guards being bumped and held at mid-court on offense? Rarely are fouls called and it slows down the offensive game so much. I mean, who wants to watch that? It’s actually a foul – so call it and players will stop doing it. Btw, the WNBA allowed that so much last year that they changed how the game is called this year as it was also unwatchable. The NBA should do the same. We are 30 years removed from the Pat Riley era in NY when playoff games were in the 70s.
7. Wemby is a freak. No doubt about it. Incredible talent – especially on defense with the blocks. Teams try to muscle him and he does lash out sometimes on his blocks. Is he a dirty player? SU doesn’t think so but keep an eye on that. He was ejected in a game earlier in the playoffs as he can get frustrated. Definitely some follow through going on with his arms.

Finally, you have to tip your hat to Coach Mike Brown. Win or lose this series, he played a lot of guys during the regular season. His rotations often varied but the net is that he can slot in different players in the playoffs who had meaningful minutes during the regular season. Tom Thibodeau did not do that – great coach but he had his guys and not much more than that. Brown also has the luxury of changing up the flow of a game by subbing and not every team can do that.

For the Knicks, game 2 would be nice but they did what they had to do last night in a game, given the layoff, was a steal.

Quick comment on the Yankees before I go. They are not competitive vs. teams with a winning record. Pretty obvious at this point. 3-10 for the season. True, a small sample size but they fail the eye test.