Category: Sports News

As the Spurs head into Game 3, they have some positives to build on defensively. In Games 1 and 2, they utilized a similar defensive stratagem on Jalen Brunson that worked in the Western Conference Finals against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. So far, they have limited the Knicks star point guard from taking over. In San Antonio, the Spurs stayed within striking distance but came up short.

During the regular season, Brunson averaged 26 points on 46.7% shooting. During this postseason he has stayed consistent. In the last two games, he’s averaged 25 points on 33.9% shooting. Against the Spurs, Brunson has to work harder to get his points. And with all that extra ball-handling comes an increase in turnovers, from two-and-a-half in the regular season to four per game in the Finals.

What is working for the Spurs? Simply put, Stephon Castle has been brilliant. In the first two games, Castle covered Brunson for 9:24, by far the most time by any member of the Silver & Black. During that time, Brunson has scored 8 points on shooting 2 of 10, or 20%.

After Game 1, Castle stated, “I thought we did well. We kept him off the line, for the most part. He made some tough shots late. I feel like a lot of his buckets were loud because they were back-to-back. The shots he did get to go were consecutive, so it hurt a little bit more. But looking at the box score, looking back on it, I think we did a pretty good job on him.”

The only player limiting Brunson to a lower shooting percentage is De’Aaron Fox. On his watch spanning 4:25, Brunson did not score, going 0 for 6 with two turnovers.

After Game 2, Fox echoed Castle’s sentiment from Game 1, “I think we’ve had a good defense majority of the year. We’re just trying to make it difficult on him. I think we’ve done a good job both games. He’s made big shots at the end of games. He’s a hell of a player. Even when you make it difficult on good players, they’re talented so they’re going to end up making shots. He’s done that, especially at the end of the games. I don’t know if I would say just change much of what we’re doing. He’s made timely shots.”

Dylan Harper, guarded Brunson for 5:49 and held him to 2 points on 1 of 3. After Game 2, Harper said of Brunson, “He’s a great player. I feel like he kind of likes moments like that. He steps up in those big moments. I think for us we have to keep doubling down on our game plan, kind of just seeing what works and just keep going to that.”

Victor Wembanyama also boasts some good defense on the Knicks guard. The Defensive Player of the Year has held Brunson to just just 25%, 3 of 12 shooting, in the first two games. Most of Victor’s 2:53 covering him has come after switching onto him while defending the pick and roll. In those situations, Brunson is 1 of 7.

Where Brunson has found success, and where the Spurs will need to make a more concerted effort, is when Julian Champagnie, Devin Vassell, and Carter Bryant end up on him. Champagnie has allowed Brunson 22 points on 9 of 13 shooting, or 69.2%, in 4:54. Meanwhile, Vassell has allowed 5 0f 9, or 55.6%, over 2:59, yielding 10 points. Carter Bryant, who’s only been on Brunson for 2:05, has allowed 6 points on 3 of 5 shooting.

Vassell spoke on Sunday about covering him when he’s made those clutch shots, stating, “Yeah, it feels like those are the moments that he lives for, especially in the fourth quarter, clutch. I feel like we’re doing a really good job on him, making him shoot some tough shots all throughout the game. Even those clutch shots are very tough shots that he’s been hitting.”

The Spurs lost by ten in Game 1 and by a single point in Game 2. In Game 1, Brunson scored 30 points. 12-31 38.7% going 4 of 4 from the charity stripe, By comparison, the Spurs did better in Game 2, limiting him to 20 points, 7-25, 28%, 4 of 5 free throws.

Overall, there have been stretches where Brunson struggles to get the ball through the hoop. After hitting the opening shot of Game 1, he didn’t score again until the halfway point of the second quarter. In fact, he scored 3 in the first, 8 in the second, and 6 in the third. It wasn’t until his 13-point fourth quarter eruption that the Knicks separated from the Spurs for the win. It’s key to why Brunson came in fifth for Clutch Player of the Year this season, and exactly where the Spurs must lock in if they hope to take Game 3 in New York.

It takes 12 players, multiple coaches, a medical staff, front office and much more to win a championship, but to the general public, most of the credit falls on the big stars. For the Knicks, now two wins away from their first chip in over half a century, that’s Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, but their roster of unsung heroes runs much longer.

One player who can’t be ignored is Landry Shamet -- now on his second consecutive veteran's minimum deal, Shamet's been a major part of their run to the championship, despite the bumps and bruises on the way.

Last year, he suffered a shoulder injury in preseason and agreed to rehab in the G-League before rejoining the team midseason. While he returned to action, he fell out of the rotation when the playoffs rolled around, until the Knicks desperately turned to him facing elimination in the Conference Finals.

He provided a nice spark, but New York had limited roster spots going into 2025-26, and he had to compete for another minimum deal. Shamet made the cut, but this year began to look like Déjà vu. 

Shamet suffered another shoulder injury early this season, sidelining him for a third of it. He’d come back again, but wasn’t a major rotation piece early in the postseason.

Things turned around in New York’s second round, when Shamet popped for 15 and 12 points in Games 3 and 4 on the road in Philadelphia. His performance helped close out the Sixers, as he shot 6-of-9 from three in the two contests.

But the real magic came in Game 1 of the Conference Finals. With Josh Hart struggling down 22 and just seven minutes to play, head coach Mike Brown subbed in Shamet with the starters for spacing, and the Knicks rolled.

Shamet hit some of the biggest threes of the season: one to cut the lead to 17, another that bounced in with under a minute to play that tied the game, and finally the clincher in overtime. He finished with just these nine points, but they were crucial to one of the greatest comebacks in NBA Playoffs history.

He followed up with another pair of big road games, scoring 14 in Game 3 and 16 in Game 4, contributing to another dominant sweep. He finished the Conference Finals shooting a stellar 11-of-12 from downtown.

If these performances weren’t enough to cement his legacy in this playoff run, his early start to the Finals might put #44 in the rafters. Shamet’s been a big boost off the bench in a series Brunson’s struggled and the Knicks haven’t played to their best offensively as a team. 

Shamet scored 13 in Game 1 on 3-of-6 shooting from three, and another 13 on 3-of-7 three-point attempts in Game 2, as the Knicks won two tough road games to take control of the championship round. 

Throughout his appearances, he’s defended hard and attacked the mid-range and paint to keep defenses honest.

It’s no exaggeration that the Knicks wouldn’t be in this spot without Shamet’s contributions. Miles McBride is averaging under seven points this postseason and Jordan Clarkson slowly fell out of the rotation as the competition stiffened.

With limited offensive help from the pine, Shamet’s been a major lift, providing double-digit scoring in single-digit victories. All on a prove-it contract that’s likely to now be aggressively outbid in the summer.

The Knicks are still two wins away from their ultimate goal, and Shamet will need to continue his pace to secure them. If that happens, he goes from heartwarming story to local legend, and no matter where he ends up, New York fans will be eternally, deservingly grateful. 

Former NBA guard Jameer Nelson is taking on a significantly larger role within the 76ers organization following a dramatic front-office shakeup.

With Daryl Morey no longer the team president, the 76ers have also removed Elton Brand from his role as general manager — a position he held since September 2018.

Taking his place will be Nelson, the Philadelphia native and former NBA All-Star who has been the team’s assistant general manager since May 2025 and has been in the team’s front office since 2020.

Nelson will work under Mike Gansey, the newly hired president of basketball operations.

The changes for Philadelphia follow yet another disappointing postseason exit, as Philadelphia’s hopes of a deep run ended, once again, in the second round of the playoffs.

Coming off the high of a seven-game series win against the Celtics, which included three straight victories to end the first round, the 76ers were swept by the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Nelson has steadily climbed the organizational ladder since transitioning from his playing career.

The former Magic star has worked in player development, scouting and executive roles, leading to his promotion to the general manager seat.

His promotion signals a new direction for a team attempting to regroup after another second-round exit.

The 76ers haven’t reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years, and since becoming a perennial playoff team again, they’ve been eliminated in the second round in six of their last nine seasons.

Philadelphia enters the offseason with major roster questions, too.

Joel Embiid, 32, is going to make a combined $120 million for the next two seasons, with a $67 million player option in 2028-29.

Paul George, 36, will enter the third year of a four-year deal, earning $54 million next season with a $56.6 million player option for 2027-28.

Tyrese Maxey, 25, has three years remaining and will make over $40 million next season.

The 76ers, who own the No. 22 pick in the draft, will also have free agency decisions to make on Quentin Grimes, Andre Drummond and Kelly Oubre.

With this hiring, Nelson now becomes one of the most influential figures in shaping Philadelphia’s future.

Before enjoying a successful NBA playing career, Nelson starred at Saint Joseph’s University, where he became one of the most accomplished players in program history.

After being the No. 20 pick in the 2004 draft, Nelson played with the Magic for 10 seasons, and starred on the 2008-09 team, which reached the NBA Finals and lost to the Lakers for Kobe Bryant’s first ring post Shaquille O’Neal.

Nelson, an All-Star that season, averaged 16.7 points and 5.4 assists per game while shooting 50 percent from the field, 45 percent from three and 89 percent on free throws.

He retired following the 2018 season after stints with the Nuggets, Pelicans, Celtics, Pistons and Mavericks.