Knicks-Spurs NBA Finals: As San Antonio focuses on keeping season alive, coach Mitch Johnson acknowledges he needs to be better
SAN ANTONIO — As the postseason has dragged on over the past two months, Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson has constantly referred to the phrase “100 games,” an indication of not only how long an actual regular season can last, but also how experience can build over time.
Game 4, a historic Finals collapse, was unlike anything this team had ever experienced, but Johnson’s method of motivation, even in instances when his team let go of the rope, has always been a balancing act: emphasizing positive areas that helped build leads, which the Spurs have done plenty this series, while also acknowledging what went wrong.
But does this approach work at the highest level of the sport, in the most tense, emotional, draining moments?
“It’s a good question,” Johnson said. “I think every game takes on different personalities. A lot of times when you watch the games back, with the level of detail that I would guess all staffs do, but I can speak for our staff, there’s so much that starts to happen, whether on a certain play before you make the shot or before the runs happen.
“I think that’s what gives someone a lot of clarity on what went well and what didn’t, what led to it. A lot of times, again, these things aren’t in a vacuum, isolated types of things. As you see that there’s a lot of themes of the game that may not necessarily show themselves in a box score on the surface level, when you start peeling back the layers, you start to understand the ripple effect, good and bad, of what you do or what you did.”
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Divvying up the blame pie chart for surrendering a 29-point lead is an interesting social experiment; Victor Wembanyama leaned too far into high-usage, low-efficiency shots in the second half, missing 11 of his 14 attempts; De’Aaron Fox’s split-second decision-making when veteran guidance was required will replay on and on; Stephon Castle’s inability to create the separation he had enjoyed for weeks in the postseason proved costly. The list could go on and on.
But as Johnson sat at the podium, he seemed to absorb all of the responsibility. After all, it was him that allowed two huge runs in the second half, a 13-0 run in the middle of the third quarter and a 32-11 Knicks blitzkrieg over the final nine minutes, all without making adjustments. It was him that allowed Wembanyama’s usage and minutes to climb and climb without trying to find some breathing room for him, literally and figuratively. It was him that extended too much of a leash to Keldon Johnson in hopes of playing him into a rhythm needed from the second unit, as opposed to recalling Dylan Harper. It was him that largely went away from creating paint touches that create secondary and tertiary actions and shots, getting swept up in the dramatics of Madison Square Garden.
Johnson spoke about the lack of execution and discipline in the second half, focusing on the third quarter, when he felt San Antonio began to lose its identity, which manifested itself in the final frame. But the more he elaborated on the Spurs’ mistakes, it was clear Johnson understood that everything boiled down to him.
“There [were] a lot of things that we did, where it felt like we could have put our energy into the right spots in that third quarter,” Johnson said. “Some things that I could have done to help that, as well. I think that quarter probably was the most disappointing for me. There’s some learning things in every quarter, don’t get me wrong, some things we want to be sharper with, better at, finish games. We weren’t as connected and disciplined as we should have been.”
In Game 5 (8:30 p.m. ET Saturday, ABC), the margin for error is lower than the floor with the Spurs facing a 3-1 series deficit. The reason why an overwhelming majority of tickets have been purchased by traveling Knicks fans is because they smell blood in the water and sense a wounded team. But in the same token as Mitch Johnson running to the defense of his players — like Fox — his roster, that has grown with him, protects its shot caller. “De’Aaron Fox will have the basketball in his hands at the end of the game tomorrow, and I have the utmost confidence he’s going to deliver like he’s done countless times for us,” Johnson said
If there’s any hope or luck from the basketball gods in extending this series, both fronts will need to be in unison.
“He understands people very well and knows how to speak to them,” Wembanyama said of Johnson. “I am no exception. He knows how to speak to me. In-game, it feels like non-verbal communication as much as verbal because sometimes it’s loud, sometimes we’re far away. He knows what I need. He knows what I need to get to. I also know what he needs, what signals he needs. We’ve grown very much in that sense.”
That communication will be especially important considering Wembanyama’s rising workload. The 22-year-old, who played a shade over 29 minutes per game during the regular season, has seen his playing time jump from 28.3 minutes per game in the opening round to a whopping 40.3 through Game 4 of the Finals. Wembanyama acknowledged the presence of possible fatigue but refused to allow it be used as an excuse for how the team fell apart late in Game 4. Regardless, it’s Johnson who monitors his star’s energy levels and admitted he could have done a better job of handling the Frenchman.
“Looking back on it, I do believe that I have to make sure that I help him have the energy required to finish the game as strong as he needs to finish the game,” Johnson said. “I think I could have done better in that regard. That’s not a number of minutes. That’s not meaning he’s going to play this many minutes tomorrow. It’s looking back on the game, and that game in itself, I got to make sure that I help with that. I think I could have been better in that regard looking back from that game.”
A team this young and inexperienced needs a leader to lean on, and Johnson has shown since taking the reins from Gregg Popovich that he’s capable, forward-thinking and brave. The Spurs have shown through their actions that they’re willing to run through a brick wall for Johnson. He’ll need to repay their faith with fortitude if San Antonio dares to pull off what seems like the impossible.
