NBA Finals

[Gerry Hamilton]

For those wondering ... Wemby leads the series in scoring at 27.5 per game. 

27.5, 10.5, 3.5 blocks per 

Brunson is at 25 points per on 19 of 56 from the field (4-17 from 3). Clutch dude, battling through minor injuries IMO

 

[Gerry Hamilton]

13 minutes ago, harveycmd said:

This is a problem, but there's a lot more they could do to improve.

Double teaming Brunson isn't working. They should stop that like they did after game 3 against SGA and just dare Brunson to beat them one on one with contested shots. KAT is the guy killing them, not Brunson.

Offensively they need to work Wemby more in the mid-range to post. When Wemby is the screener in pick/roll, if the screen doesn't immediately generate an open shot, they need to reverse the ball and look for Wemby from the elbow down. 

Castle is a huge part of it IMO. I've been on this watching him in person each of the last two years and them enough on the tube. Spurs are square peg, round hole'ing this thing right now. Castle has ball in hand more than any other player. And he's just not that player. He's not a team runner, let alone a "PG". He's just playing with the most gifted both ends of the floor player in the world. He's not instinctive (like play with 10 seconds to go last night was glaring as have been too many others), it's not natural, he's too slow to make the correct read too much, produces bad flow too much and turns it over too much at critical times. And it's going to be a problem for Spurs long term (against the very best) if the brass doesn't engage him in a role change, and just says this is who you actually are as a player and go do it and very good at it. If he's not willing, which I think will be the case, move him sooner rather than later. 

I think he's a solid player, overrated in the eyes of many, but I would consider trading him right now after the season and getting more wing shooting. 

Spurs need to hand ball to Harper starting next year, surround Wemby with best shooting possible and get a four man that fits the roster/rotation. 

[Hookem72]

On 6/5/2026 at 7:44 AM, harveycmd said:

I've been researching this best ever basketball player in the playoffs at 22 stuff. Seems like Wemby is fifth according to a conglomerate AI search.

Kobe Bryant (2001 Lakers): One of the greatest postseason runs ever while winning his second consecutive title. Kobe averaged 29.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 6.1 APG, leading the Lakers in scoring through the Western Conference gauntlet (including 33.3 PPG against the Spurs) as the team went an historic 15-1 to win the title. Kobe was the team's closer and best defender, famously outdueling Allen Iverson in the Finals.

Magic Johnson (1982 Lakers): Won his second NBA Championship and Finals MVP at age 22. He averaged 17.4 PPG, 11.3 RPG, and 9.3 APG over 14 games. While legendary, he shared alpha duties on a stacked roster featuring prime Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Michael Jordan (1986 Bulls): Played only 3 games but put on the most individually dominant scoring display in playoff history. Facing the legendary 1986 Boston Celtics, Jordan averaged an absurd 43.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 5.7 APG, including his famous 63-point game at Boston Garden. However, the Bulls were swept in the first round.

LeBron James (2007 Cavaliers): Completely carried an underwhelming Cleveland roster all the way to the NBA Finals. He averaged 25.1 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 8.0 APG over 20 games, highlighted by his legendary Game 5 against Detroit where he scored 29 of the Cavs' final 30 points. Cleveland was ultimately swept by the Spurs in the Finals.

Victor Wembanyama (2026 Spurs): Reached the NBA Finals. Wembanyama averaged 22.1 PPG, 12.3 RPG, and a staggering 4.0 BPG, pacing the entire postseason in blocks and 

Edit: misread your timeline

if Wemby bulks up, his feet will never hold up in my opinion.  At this point he is the freakiest specimen with the highest ceiling of any player ever.  He hasn’t made it yet.  At this point he is just a three year player that could go on to be the GOAT or end up as Yao Ming.

Edited yesterday at 12:54 PM by Hookem72

[harveycmd]

1 minute ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

Castle is a huge part of it IMO. I've been on this watching him in person each of the last two years and them enough on the tube. Spurs are square peg, round hole'ing this thing right now. Castle has ball in hand more than any other player. And he's just not that player. He's not a team runner, let alone a "PG". He's just playing with the most gifted both ends of the floor player in the world. He's not instinctive (like play with 10 seconds to go last night was glaring as have been too many others), it's not natural, he's too slow to make the correct read too much, produces bad flow too much and turns it over too much at critical times. And it's going to be a problem for Spurs long term (against the very best) if the brass doesn't engage him in a role change, and just says this is who you actually are as a player and go do it and very good at it. If he's not willing, which I think will be the case, move him sooner rather than later. 

I think he's a solid player, overrated in the eyes of many, but I would consider trading him right now after the season and getting more wing shooting. 

Spurs need to hand ball to Harper starting next year, surround Wemby with best shooting possible and get a four man that fits the roster/rotation. 

I agree they should take the ball out of Castle's hands, and if he doesn't like it, trade him. 

In terms of strategy for potentially getting back into this series, however, there's plenty they can do. The Spurs have the much better team. They're letting KAT dictate terms against Wemby. I'm not blaming Mitch. I think he's a great young coach. 

[harveycmd]

5 minutes ago, Hookem72 said:

Edit: misread your timeline

if Wemby bulks up, his feet will never hold up in my opinion.  At this point he is the freakiest specimen with the highest ceiling of any player ever.  He hasn’t made it yet.  At this point he is just a three year player that could go on to be the GOAT or end up as Yao Ming.

Wemby doesn't have to "bulk up" much. He can work on his footwork and offensive bag to take advantage of his height while trying to save his joints. He can play much more in the post offensively without simply "grinding" out position by moving so as to prevent leverage disadvantages.

[Shivam Patel]

@Gerry HamiltonI agree with your analysis on Castle running PG! But the Wemby has to play better for the Spurs to win he’s betting outplayed by KAT. 

[FforFake]

GO NEW YORK GO NEW YORK GO

[Jordan91]

1 hour ago, Shivam Patel said:

@Gerry HamiltonI agree with your analysis on Castle running PG! But the Wemby has to play better for the Spurs to win he’s betting outplayed by KAT. 

Kat is really bad matchup for him. He can get around Wemby but more importantly he’s in his head. They had two opportunities late in game two, both were bad choices. Castle keeps trying to throw lobs and on that one it was not there. Harper has to play a lot more. Castle hurt them with that third foul. Harper did one thing late in the game that other guards should do going forward. Everybody is going to the rim expecting a foul call, falling down and complaining while NY is already in the front court. Harper had the same opportunity and he stopped and got the ball out and they scored. He knew his shot would get blocked or no foul would be called. I lost count of how many times the Spurs did that. They have to adjust and it’s shouldn’t be a rookie that figures it out, before veterans. 

[Califashorn75]

Likely to be swept. 

[Gerry Hamilton]

6 hours ago, Shivam Patel said:

@Gerry HamiltonI agree with your analysis on Castle running PG! But the Wemby has to play better for the Spurs to win he’s betting outplayed by KAT. 

Wemby leads the series in scoring, second in rebounds, leads in blocked shots and has the biggest impact on his team of any one player. 

He averaging 27.5, 10.5, 3.5. 

If he has to average 33-34 points, 13-14 rebounds and 4-5 blocks as a 22 year old  for the Spurs to win the series … that’s probably not going to happen. 

KAT is a 6 time NBA All-Star and possible Hall of Fame player. A really, really good player and former No. 1 pick. He’s averaging 19.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 4 assists and a block per game. 

Wemby isn’t the reason the Spurs aren’t winning. But that’s what comes with being who he is. 

[Gerry Hamilton]

On 6/5/2026 at 7:44 AM, harveycmd said:

I've been researching this best ever basketball player in the playoffs at 22 stuff. Seems like Wemby is fifth according to a conglomerate AI search.

Kobe Bryant (2001 Lakers): One of the greatest postseason runs ever while winning his second consecutive title. Kobe averaged 29.4 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 6.1 APG, leading the Lakers in scoring through the Western Conference gauntlet (including 33.3 PPG against the Spurs) as the team went an historic 15-1 to win the title. Kobe was the team's closer and best defender, famously outdueling Allen Iverson in the Finals.

Magic Johnson (1982 Lakers): Won his second NBA Championship and Finals MVP at age 22. He averaged 17.4 PPG, 11.3 RPG, and 9.3 APG over 14 games. While legendary, he shared alpha duties on a stacked roster featuring prime Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Michael Jordan (1986 Bulls): Played only 3 games but put on the most individually dominant scoring display in playoff history. Facing the legendary 1986 Boston Celtics, Jordan averaged an absurd 43.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 5.7 APG, including his famous 63-point game at Boston Garden. However, the Bulls were swept in the first round.

LeBron James (2007 Cavaliers): Completely carried an underwhelming Cleveland roster all the way to the NBA Finals. He averaged 25.1 PPG, 8.1 RPG, and 8.0 APG over 20 games, highlighted by his legendary Game 5 against Detroit where he scored 29 of the Cavs' final 30 points. Cleveland was ultimately swept by the Spurs in the Finals.

Victor Wembanyama (2026 Spurs): Reached the NBA Finals. Wembanyama averaged 22.1 PPG, 12.3 RPG, and a staggering 4.0 BPG, pacing the entire postseason in blocks and player efficiency.

Fun and interesting to think about some of the teams guys were.

Shaq O’Neal was the best player on the Lakers team. To be clear. 

So much of this has to do with who is on a team with you vs a single player comparison.

O’Neal averaged 30.4 points. 15.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 16 playoff games. 

In the NBA Finals … Shaq averaged 33 points, 15.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.4 blocks to take home MVP honors. 

That was an older more experienced Shaq, obviously. 

Lakers had 2 of the top 10 players ever on the same team. And two of the very best player in the league on the same team. With a couple of clutch role players around them. 

Now the study to think about is this IMO

Put Kobe on the Spurs with Wemby. Spurs win it too. Going to be the best two players on the floor, and each make the others job easier and more efficient/dominant 

Same thing with putting Shaq on Cavs with young LeBron. They beat the 2007 Spurs. 

——-

Michael Jordan is the best player in the history of the sport, until someone comes along and takes it from him. Which hasn’t happened yet.

One thing about Jordan early days. That was before expansion. There were some truly great teams in the league , that wouldn’t have been put together after expansion. He wasn’t going to lead that Bulls team to an NBA Title at that point. 

Jordan was absolutely dominant in a an extremely tough stretch … Celtics were about all HOF’ers with a top 10 player ever leading them, Pistons were just a loaded roster with 3 Future Hall of Fame players, and terrific depth of talent.

It’s part of why Jordan’s dominance will always be underrated. 

——-

The LeBron Cavs team is the closest to the Wemby Spurs team. 

Both carried a team to the NBA Finals, but ultimately didn’t have the pieces around them to help them climb the mountain top.

A lot of people said LeBron didn’t play well enough in the Finals. As great of a player as he was, his team was simply overmatched. 

Averaged 22 points on sub 40% FG shooting for series. Averaged 7 rebounds and 6.8 assists. Also averaged 6 TO’s per game having to try and do too much. 

[Thorn007]

see series at 3-2 knicks and game 6 in NY will tell the tale. whatchu talkin bout Gerry. kobe was greatest of all times lolo/ harv says so. again and again ...

[Gerry Hamilton]

2 minutes ago, Thorn007 said:

see series at 3-2 knicks and game 6 in NY will tell the tale. whatchu talkin bout Gerry. kobe was greatest of all times lolo/ harv says so. again and again ...

Spurs are going to have to have a hot 3 point shooting game to win a single game IMO

So far, Knicks have shot the 3 better - and now go to home court.

Knicks ball movement in half court is so much better and more crisp. Then Brunson does his thing when it’s time. They are getting a lot of good looks, and are shooting the 3 better by 6-7%’ish so far with 4 more makes in series.

Spurs are going to need a 17-18 made 3’s type game to get one in NY IMO. And that’s if Knicks keep shooting it like they are (Brunson will have a better 3-pt shooting game at home IMO). Spurs are averaging 11 makes per right now. That dog won’t hunt in this series. And it’s tougher because they don’t have the ball movement and timing/flow in half court. Younger team, obviously, but Spurs putting ball in Castle’s hands as much as they do/are is always going to make it tougher to have that level of ball movement/flow ideally needed. 

Hope Spurs get one in NY to at least get it to 5 games, and refs can get it to six from there lol 

[harveycmd]

59 minutes ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

Fun and interesting to think about some of the teams guys were.

Shaq O’Neal was the best player on the Lakers team. To be clear. 

So much of this has to do with who is on a team with you vs a single player comparison.

O’Neal averaged 30.4 points. 15.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 16 playoff games. 

In the NBA Finals … Shaq averaged 33 points, 15.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.4 blocks to take home MVP honors. 

That was an older more experienced Shaq, obviously. 

Lakers had 2 of the top 10 players ever on the same team. And two of the very best player in the league on the same team. With a couple of clutch role players around them. 

Now the study to think about is this IMO

Put Kobe on the Spurs with Wemby. Spurs win it too. Going to be the best two players on the floor, and each make the others job easier and more efficient/dominant 

Same thing with putting Shaq on Cavs with young LeBron. They beat the 2007 Spurs. 

——-

Michael Jordan is the best player in the history of the sport, until someone comes along and takes it from him. Which hasn’t happened yet.

One thing about Jordan early days. That was before expansion. There were some truly great teams in the league , that wouldn’t have been put together after expansion. He wasn’t going to lead that Bulls team to an NBA Title at that point. 

Jordan was absolutely dominant in a an extremely tough stretch … Celtics were about all HOF’ers with a top 10 player ever leading them, Pistons were just a loaded roster with 3 Future Hall of Fame players, and terrific depth of talent.

It’s part of why Jordan’s dominance will always be underrated. 

——-

The LeBron Cavs team is the closest to the Wemby Spurs team. 

Both carried a team to the NBA Finals, but ultimately didn’t have the pieces around them to help them climb the mountain top.

A lot of people said LeBron didn’t play well enough in the Finals. As great of a player as he was, his team was simply overmatched. 

Averaged 22 points on sub 40% FG shooting for series. Averaged 7 rebounds and 6.8 assists. Also averaged 6 TO’s per game having to try and do too much. 

Both Shaq and Phil said Kobe was the best player on the team in 2001. The reason Kobe was the best is because he led the offense and defense, not Shaq. If the game was close, Kobe had the ball. Kobe defended the other team's best player 1-3. 

This year's Spurs team has more depth and all-around talent than the 2001 Lakers. What the Spurs don't have is a player as good as Kobe or Shaq were in 2001. 

It's a fun debate, and I basically agree with your points. I posted that to simply counter all the hype about Wemby being the best 22 year old player ever to lead his team in the playoffs, which is objectively not true. Wemby is the best player in the world right now, and he likely will be for a few years barring significant injury. 

[harveycmd]

1 hour ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

Spurs are going to have to have a hot 3 point shooting game to win a single game IMO

So far, Knicks have shot the 3 better - and now go to home court.

Knicks ball movement in half court is so much better and more crisp. Then Brunson does his thing when it’s time. They are getting a lot of good looks, and are shooting the 3 better by 6-7%’ish so far with 4 more makes in series.

Spurs are going to need a 17-18 made 3’s type game to get one in NY IMO. And that’s if Knicks keep shooting it like they are (Brunson will have a better 3-pt shooting game at home IMO). Spurs are averaging 11 makes per right now. That dog won’t hunt in this series. And it’s tougher because they don’t have the ball movement and timing/flow in half court. Younger team, obviously, but Spurs putting ball in Castle’s hands as much as they do/are is always going to make it tougher to have that level of ball movement/flow ideally needed. 

Hope Spurs get one in NY to at least get it to 5 games, and refs can get it to six from there lol 

The Spurs must shift their defensive strategy if they want to do anything. As I said before, they need to stop doubling and trapping Brunson thirty feet from the basket. Brunson is not some kind of all world one on one player. The Spurs have the defenders to stay in front of Brunson and make it tough for him. The Knicks have better shooters than the Thunder, and that's what's killing the Spurs. 

Offensively the Spurs need to take advantage of the Wemby mismatch by getting him the ball fifteen feet and in. His height advantage makes it physically impossible to keep him from getting the ball if you move him and look for him. 

The Spurs can win the series if they play smarter and don't choke.

[Gerry Hamilton]

3 hours ago, harveycmd said:

Both Shaq and Phil said Kobe was the best player on the team in 2001. The reason Kobe was the best is because he led the offense and defense, not Shaq. If the game was close, Kobe had the ball. Kobe defended the other team's best player 1-3. 

This year's Spurs team has more depth and all-around talent than the 2001 Lakers. What the Spurs don't have is a player as good as Kobe or Shaq were in 2001. 

It's a fun debate, and I basically agree with your points. I posted that to simply counter all the hype about Wemby being the best 22 year old player ever to lead his team in the playoffs, which is objectively not true. Wemby is the best player in the world right now, and he likely will be for a few years barring significant injury. 

Shaq was the best player on the Lakers. 

He was the most dominant player in the NBA. 

The NBA changed the rules of defense because of Shaq. 

[genevalonghorn]

Gerry hit the nail on the head.  In an era defined by physicality and the big man, Shaq was physically dominant.  The most physically dominant player in NBA history, to the point he dominated Hall of Famers, from Mutombo to Ewing and down the line.

Edited 1 hour ago by genevalonghorn

[harveycmd]

25 minutes ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

Shaq was the best player on the Lakers. 

He was the most dominant player in the NBA. 

The NBA changed the rules of defense because of Shaq. 

They changed the rules because of Shaq and Kobe together. Shaq was more dominant through stretches, but he wasn't as good of an all around basketball player. Not even in 2001.

This is tangentially related. Here's Myles Garrett throwing out the first pitch for the Dodgers yesterday wearing a T-Shirt of Kobe pictured in 2001 with a Dodgers cap.