San Antonio set a record nobody would want, giving up a 29-point lead, including a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, and losing to New York, 107-106.
Charles Barkley, who has had a few things to say about the city of San Antonio over the years, called the Spurs “the dumbest basketball team in the history of civilization.”
He’s not entirely wrong, but there is some context: first, the Spurs are by far the youngest team to make it to the Finals. If a couple of plays had gone differently, they’d be up 3-1 instead of down by that margin.
And secondly, while this team has some great pieces, it’s not where it could be. Julian Champagnie and Devin Vassell might be better coming off the bench. And while De’Aaron Fox had a major error, so did Josh Hart.
Imagine the Spurs with a couple of other pieces. For argument’s sake, let’s say they had Jared McCain, a confident shooter and acceptable defender. Imagine if they had, say, De’Andre Hunter or Marcus Smart.
Or having just one veteran could stabilize that team when things get dicey and could put them over the top.
Right now, Dylan Harper (20), Stephon Castle (21), and Victor Wembanyama (22) are the heart of that team. Wembanyama is wildly gifted, but he’s cracked under the pressure of the Finals. Harper is very promising, but he’s a rookie. Castle, just in his second year, seems like the rock of the team.
We’d love to see Mason Plumlee playing a bigger role, but he’s 36 and his career is winding down. He got another DNP in Game 5.
We said the other night that San Antonio had a narrow margin of error in the Finals, and that was the case in Game 4. Their best three players are under 22, and they’ll learn from this failure. This is a humiliating loss and a brutal lesson, but this is still the team of the future.
Just as the Spurs are too young to pull this off, New York is a team with a lot of veterans who made amazingly gutsy plays down the stretch. The guy we’re happiest for is Jose Alvarado. When he was at Georgia Tech, we said he’d be a four-year player who would not play in the NBA. Well, we were really wrong there. Alvarado hit a dagger of a three late in the fourth. The Knicks probably wouldn’t have won without him.
Assuming they get one more win, which seems highly likely, Alvarado is going to be an absolute prince in his hometown. New York hasn’t won a title since 1973, and when they do, he may never have to pay for another meal in town again.
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