[Highlight] Knicks with an incredible offensive possession. Multiple guys drive to the paint, kick it out, drive to the paint, kick it out leading to the open corner 3.
This is a good clip.
I knew it was coming. Shit was 2014 spurs-esque
Dude I saw this live and also thought 2014 Spurs dismantling the Thunder!
I said out loud “the [2026] Spurs defense is so fucking good” until the Knicks finally got the open look with Wemby gassed in the paint. Look at the replay of this post and look how much the Knicks make him move fruitlessly. That has to be deflating.
2014 Thunder also had a slenderman star and multiple precocious guards who play fierce. They lost to the more polished Duncan-Parker Spurs that year but time only goes one way…
Look at the replay of this post and look how much the Knicks make him move fruitlessly. That has to be deflating.
That’s what I wanted to say to all the posters in the game threads that were talking shit on wemby. Knicks are dragging him all over the floor and out of the paint to get open looks. It’s exhausting him. Makes it worse that Kornet has not been good and Spurs are getting crushed when he’s on the bench.
How dare you use my own spell against me Potter?!
Crazy how loud the cheer was on the make, in a road stadium. Proud of how the Knicks fans repped in their building
Our fans are passionate and travel so well it’s awesome to see
passionate rich
Cheaper to travel to san antonio and rent out a hotel than buying tickets in msg 😭
why not both
Knicks fans can only get normal prices in other team’s stadiums 😭
Its cheaper to fly first class and get courtside tickets in san Antonio than it is to get a regular season game vs the Celtics in MSG, let alone a playoff game.
Oh I knew, I paid out the ass to see the Knicks get cracked in G3 against Boston last year, and that’s an order of magnitude less than these finals prices.
This is also a wemby clip the amount they gotta work to get a bucket is crazy
Also forcing Wemby to run around a lot in a single defensive possession instead of being anchored protecting the rim.
It’s basically a “let’s just tire this motherfucker” strategy
Fr. Stop running away from the dude and run into him instead.
Yea we should listen to a random redditor like you, instead of doing what’s been working the past 2 games. GTFO you’re not a real Knicks fan.
I never said they weren’t doing that, dumbass
Its the opposite though. Knicks can do this all day. Wemby cant.
It’s still an incredible display of Wemby’s rim deterrence, though. Four players got their feet into the paint where they could normally attempt a layup, and none of them even considered going up.
It’s not even very good technical defense by Wemby either. He doesn’t really predict any plays and he closes out/chases too hard multiple times. He’s just such a physical freak that it doesn’t matter.
That’s why it’s a fun play though. It’s incredible scheme, quick decision making, and connective play by the Knicks to overcome one dude just being a freak.
I know you want to find some way to give Wemby credit here, but in the end he lets his man get away because he is preoccupied looking for a block he assumes will be there because the defense is funneling drivers toward him. That’s a defensive strategy at work. But how many of them even look at the basket, let alone to get a shot off though?
If even one of them got stopped and had to shot fake / pivot out and gave the defense a chance to collapse and maybe force a turnover or a bad pass or something I’d give that to them. but this clip is just purely drawing the defense -Wemby- and making the extra pass til you find the open man. He didn’t actually deter anyone from the rim because they were just driving across the key and looking for the man who’s defender got caught in traffic, which ended up being KAT when Wemby himself was caught stuck looking for a block on a shot that never happens. You said yourself, it’s not a good example of technical defense on wembys part and you’re right. This is a good example of how to attack a player like Wemby though. The Knicks are strategically not really interested in getting to the rim unless it’s KAT, OG or Brunson and even then, that’s only if they have a clear step in the moment/ picking their spots, ie) on OG’s KATs dunks on Wemby in this game.
So to get back to the main point: hard disagree. You would never choose this clip of all clips available to illustrate wembys rim protection or defense in any way because he doesn’t even get his arms straight up to defend a potential shot more than once, if that even, during the 4 drives into the paint.
TLDR: Even if the strategy is a response to Wemby being a generational rim protector, it’s not the first time it’s been implemented. Stop glazing Wemby even when he fucks up, it will get old quickly and people will end up hating the fans who do it just like they hate the LeBron fanboys and every other individual player glazers.
The Knicks had to take a shot with the buzzer close to zero. This isn’t really complex. Wemby’s been cheating all series and the Knicks point average this series is way lower and it’s partially because of plays like this. He let KAT go because the coaching was obviously allowing heavy switching. The guard on the fist pick would have had a clear path to the rim. His presence in the paint is why they weren’t looking to shoot around him. It’s not rocket science.
“He didn’t actually deter anyone from the rim because they were just driving across the key and looking for the man who’s defender got caught in traffic, which ended up being KAT when Wemby himself was caught stuck looking for a block on a shot that never happens.”
It’s not rocket science why the never the Knicks weren’t looking for shots in the paint at all. It’s obviously to anyone who’s watched him play this season. SGA was another player that settled for tough midrange shots a lot last series BECAUSE they were pushing him towards the paint and he wasn’t trying to go at Wemby and shoot either. You’re trying to make this sequence more complex than it actually is. Out of all the times to say people are glazing Wemby, this ain’t it.
I know you want to find some way to give Wemby credit here
….check my flair. It’s really, really not that. Lol.
but this clip is just purely drawing the defense
Yes. That’s the point! With Wemby there, you can’t just drive and lay it up. Players don’t even look at the hoop when Wemby is there. Even when he makes huge mistakes, he’s so freakishly long that it still deters people.
Just on this play, Wemby jumps too far out on the hedge, closes out too hard, and reacts late on the drive. Someone like Chet is so much more technically sound, but he’s somehow half a foot shorter.
We can give credit to the Knicks for incredible offense AND acknowledge that they need this incredible offense because Wemby is a 10 foot tall Ent.
An open look immaculately generated by playing into that whole spooky purportedly game breaking scene is not 2 points, it’s one point greater. I’ll explain later.
Not yet. Your team has a contributing bench and the Spurs don’t. That’s a big issue for their starters.
I was told the spurs depth was supposed to be an advantage this series. Keldon Johnson 6th man of the year and Dylan Harper leading the way.
Yea the bench stuff is weird and funny. Especially from spurs fans crediting our bench… Harper and Johnson! Those are starters lol
don’t forget we also still have thibs conditioning.
And the power of friendship
No big can keep this up for 7 rounds of 48 minute professional basketball.
That’s why I mentioned bench.
You nephews still find a way to glaze the guy getting his ass kicked
Respecting how good your opponent is (rightfully) makes your team look better for beating them, not worse. Weird perspective. The Spurs’ defense is super impressive and Wemby is amazing in this clip– he switches perfectly to guard brunson’s jumper and then literally recovers to stop 4 drives in a row from four different knicks players before Bridges springs free for first time of anyone in clip and gets shot off with like 0.1 second left on shot clock. Amazing offense beating amazing defense. Braindead take. Go knicks
Agree w you. Some ppl are just haters. That was phenomenal by Wemby. 23 amazing seconds of defense.
Homie, why do you think they kick it out four times? because it was fun?, watch the clip and follow wemby, he was in the way in every drive, thankfully the knicks found a bad rotation after four tries
The narrative on him is really ahead of his play— not saying he isn’t really good but people are talking about like he’s an all time great already
What?
Yeah and just showing how good the spurs defense is all around. Super tenacious close outs and rotations on point.
Nah this is punishing his pattern of staying around the rim. The strong side corner is always an open 3
You not watching this clip, they want him under the rim he stopped multiple drives the perimeter defense has to rotate better. Everytime he leaves the paint to guard the 3 they either score or get a rebound instantly.
Yea when I first watched it live I was like, “man, Wemby keeps turning them away at the hoop—they can’t score at paint, etc.”
Now I see the flip side, it looks beautiful, but also, against most other teams you’d hope to finish one at the hoop.
This is faux knowledge. Good defense doesn’t ball-watch, and collapse on the ball carrier in a way that allows the passing lanes to open for this Globetrotter display. The Knicks will happily pass it around through open passing lanes to burn up the Spurs legs.
Not really perimeter players fucked it up but wemby did his job
False. Massively false. Wemby camped the paint and ran out to Bridges in a straight line, only to get turned around by Bridges. Being 7’4 is not a skill. If you were right and I am wrong this play would be making the rounds as a defensive master-class, not an offensive one.
You have no idea what you are watching the entire defensive scheme here is to keep wemby in the paint he dettered the basket 4 times in this clip before perimeter player failed to rotate properly. It took four tries where normally they would go straight up on anyone else. Its not a defensive masterclass beacuse spurs perimeter failed a rotation and the knicks were relentless and great in their passing.
At about 6 seconds you’ll see 4 Spurs within a step of Brunson, all in the paint. And it’s not for the benefit of the Spurs, as you might think it is. Do they think one of the best players in this sport will attempt a lay-up 4v1, or will he find one of his 3 open teammates? Does it occur to you that as the bigger, stronger, and more experienced team it is entirely the Knicks M.O. here to use up all of the shot clock, play a half-court game, and fully commit to a “take what the defense gives you” strategy?
Again, more psuedo-tactics. You’re farming points for sounding smart. but that’s all you’re doing.
I never said this was a perfect defense. I was talking about wemby and his role and thats it. He fulfilled his role period. He deterred 4 times. Knicks just had a better offense and passing here and guard rotations couldn’t keep up its that simple. Thats what happened in the video you are arguing over nothing. The rotation failed when Julian followed his man to paint instead of go out to the shooter.
The Beautiful Game
The ball movement is great throughout the series so far. Little to no Isos from the Knicks. That’s the way Basketball should be played.
Ego level: 0.
Knicks led the regular season in made corner threes and are leading the playoffs so far. Underrated part of what makes that offense so electric
Zach Lowe talked about it on his show that calling it a blender is somehow an understatement
This was so awesome. Perfect basketball
What a beautiful display of basketball
Lotta Knicks fans
2014 spurs vs 2026 spurs kinda vibe
Take my upvote
Watch this a couple times. Note who runs the least and who runs the most. Then add fast breaks the Knicks threw in game 1 and you can see why things get blurry and how tired legs can’t make 3s in the second half of any game.
I mean, if the shot they barely got off didn’t go in then this is a great defensive possession
this is way more an example of a great effort and not giving up. Impressive how they just kept the ball moving and didn’t let it get sticky
also, KAT’s screens are so funny, dude almost never makes contact
I mean they give up a wide open corner 3. Not sure thats how most great defensive possessions end
right, that he got off with like .2 seconds left and had to rush as the defense forced the offense to use the entire clock. great probably is overstating though, but making an offense use the entire clock is usually a win, game of bounces though
The clock is there to use. You could also say that the Knicks moved the ball until the spurs messed up on defense. Their last rotation was wrong which led to an open shot
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Mikal is an elite corner shooter. That’s a pretty easy shot for him
Yeah, this possession went to wire ,but really it’s a demo of how fluid and decisive everyone is
Screening takes a toll on your body.
fur sure, just a wolves fan getting a cute reminder, dude looks like he is going to set screens, and just gets air and pops early almost every damn time
i will say though, the toll on the body is probably worth it, screens are also a great way to be a good teammate and help your team in general, the most underrated thing about MJ is how great he got at setting picks once Phil Jackson took over, huge multiplier (this is what we call gravity lol) and so few stars do it
Porzongis does this as well. Its pretty common for 3 pt bigs to pick and pop.
right, for sure, i know what a pick and pop is, the not making contact is my only little observation. you can (and should) make contact on the screen even in a pick and pop
the whole not screening thing can be a slip too, but that is typically much more deliberate where you feint setting screen and go into the next action ahead of time (off tempo to throw off the defense)
I don’t really think this was a great defensive possession. I think Wemby is just canceling everything at the rim.
Bryant messes up and that gets the Knicks an open 3. Obviously they had to work hard to get it, but Wemby makes it easy to make it hard
What? It led to a wide open three. If the three didn’t go in the Knicks still got a wide open shot
They put them in the blender. LGK!
After this possession, I knew we’d be alright.
So fucking clutch
You can see why Wemby gets blurry, he’s spun himself silly
Mike Brown deploying 5 out lineups is such a game changer compared to last year.
I liked Thibs but he barely gave Shamet minutes.
Put Beethoven over it.
This is so great. What a balanced team does man.
That was incredible defense, not the other way around.
Even Tony Brothers couldn’t stop the Knicks on this offensive set!
This view is sick.
Was that a travel?
Yes