Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs New York Knicks

Just like Willie Nelson, the Spurs are again on the highway once more, as their partitioned Rodeo Road journey involves an finish. They have solely two opponents left earlier than getting a prolonged home-stand, and the New York Knicks are the primary crew on the docket.

Technically, the Spurs are 1-0 versus the Knickerbockers, however remembering the sting of the NBA Cup Final, I believe it is protected to say that Spurs followers know higher than that. Both video games have razor-thin margins, because the Knicks have served as a foil to Wemby and Company since Christmas of 2024.

One of the explanations for that is that the Knicks have dimension, and are consequently among the finest rebounding groups within the league (sixth), which negates one among San Antonio’s benefits (third) over most opponents, particularly because the Knicks are notably good at offensive rebounding (fifth), which is a giant a part of why they’re sixth in league in 2nd likelihood scoring.

This has been a standard theme for squads which were capable of bother the Spurs, and so they’ve actually cracked down on giving the opposition simple factors and second possibilities, which is why they now rank third within the league in stopping 2nd likelihood scoring, and in stopping opponents from scoring off of turnovers.

That the Knicks (4th) and the Spurs (fifth) are additionally now each within the high 5 for limiting their very own turnovers additional confirms that neither crew is more likely to achieve a bonus on this space.

The two groups additionally carry an virtually equivalent internet ranking (San Antonio 4th, Knicks fifth), with the Knicks displaying the higher offense (third in offensive ranking) and the Spurs persevering with to show the superior protection (third in defensive ranking).

So, it seems that distinction will as soon as once more come all the way down to suffocating the Knicks on the perimeter, because the Knicks rank twenty third in factors within the paint, and the Spurs rank 2nd in stopping factors within the paint.

And whereas a lot of recent NBA success is based on three-point conversion, the Knicks are a very nasty group of sharpshooters, rating 4th in three-pointers made and three-point proportion, regardless of rating ninth in makes an attempt.

Knicks middle Karl-Anthony Towns provides a very nasty wrinkle on the defensive finish, as arguably the premier stretch-five within the league, with a profession proportion from 3 simply decimals away from forty %.

Towns getting scorching from exterior fully alters the way in which groups defend the Knicks, and will find yourself pulling Wemby away from the rim he so zealously protects from inside violation.

That being mentioned, these are usually not the Spurs that the Knicks confronted within the NBA Cup. They’re hotter than any crew within the league proper now, driving a 10-game successful streak after thumping the East-leading Pistons alongside the way in which, and so they’re not within the extended capturing stoop of January.

Over the final 10 video games, the Spurs lead the league in scoring, +/-, offensive ranking, defensive ranking, internet ranking, assist-to-turnover ratio, True-Shooting Percentage, Limiting Free Throws, and are 2nd in Points within the Paint, FG%, and Effective FG%.

With the exception of some free-throw points in opposition to the Toronto Raptors, they’re fairly actually taking part in their greatest basketball.

The Knicks, then again, have been yo-yo-ing backwards and forwards over the identical stretch, as their offense appears to be experiencing a little bit of the drop-off (twelfth) that ailed the Spurs earlier within the 12 months, and so they’ve been handed within the standings by the Jayson Tatum-less Boston Celtics.

It’s certain to be a packed home with Wemby again within the Garden (possibly he’ll get a sport or two of chess in first), and each groups are nonetheless chasing groups forward of them within the standings for the all-important playoff seeding.

If it is something just like the final a number of conferences between these squads, it needs to be faraway from the present. And with minimal accidents, we should always get near the perfect model of each rosters.

But if I completely needed to guess on it, I’d make sure you guess on the Spurs. There’s one thing brewing there.

March 1st, 2026 | 12:00 PM CT

Watch: ABC| Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs Injuries: Mason Plumlee – Out (Conditioning)

Knicks Injuries: Miles McBride – Out (Abdominal damage)