Knicks have slowed Spurs in transition to earn their 2-0 Finals lead

The Spurs and Victor Wembanyama need to get out on the break and score more as the NBA Finals continues.

NEW YORK —

In a series where offense has been hard to come by, transition opportunities are gold, yielding layups and open 3-pointers before the defense is set.

According to Synergy tracking, the Spurs have had 57 transition possessions over the first two games of

the Finals

. That (28.5 per game) is more than they averaged through the first three rounds (24.9) and a lot more than the Knicks have had in the series (39, 19.5 per game).

Dylan Harper

leads the entire postseason

with 96 transition points, and the Spurs’ five starters are all in the top eight (66 or more). Their last two (huge) buckets of Game 2 – layups from

Harper

and

Victor Wembanyama

– came in transition.

But overall, the Spurs have not been able to capitalize on all those transition opportunities as much as they did against their Western Conference opponents. They’ve scored just 0.84 points per possession in transition through the first two games of this series, down from 1.14 per possession through the first three rounds. That (0.84) would have been the worst mark

in the regular season

by a wide margin.

Spurs’ transition points per possession

Season/round

POSS/G

PTS/G

PPP

Rank

Regular season

24.1

27.7

1.15

13

First 3 rounds

24.9

28.4

1.14

6

Finals

28.5

24.0

0.84

2

via Synergy tracking

Credit the Knicks’ defense. They’ve made some fantastic defensive plays in transition in this series. Bridges, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart are all guys who can fly back on defense and use their length and athleticism to make those transition opportunities as difficult as possible for the Spurs:

“They’re a really good transition team,” Bridges said Sunday. “You got to get back, show bodies.”

Of course, going along with the Knicks’ overall mentality, Bridges isn’t satisfied with the stops they’ve gotten so far.

“I still think we got to do a way better job … I don’t think we are up to what we’re supposed to be doing as a team defensively in transition.”

Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson said Sunday that there’s no clear diagnosis for his team’s lack of efficiency in transition thus far.

“We’ve had a few turnovers in transition that are not as common throughout the season,” he said. “It really hasn’t been a real clear theme of why that is, other than not making the right play or not finishing those advantages out as we have throughout the season.”

Indeed, there’s been some

general sloppiness

, including

Wembanyama’s game-deciding turnover

in the closing seconds of Game 2. There’s been some

settling for decent shots

when better ones can be found later in the possession. And there’s been some forcing things that just aren’t there:

Toughest to swallow are the empty results that turn into transition opportunities on the other end of the floor.

“Going from looking like we’re probably getting a bucket to giving up a bucket,” Johnson said. “Those are big swings in this game when you start talking about the margin of error at this level.”

The Knicks have been similarly inefficient in transition in this series, going from 1.32 points per transition possession (best in the playoffs) through the first three rounds to just 0.85 per possession in The Finals. But it’s not as big of an issue for them, because they’ve found more success in their halfcourt offense. While the Spurs have just seven field goals in the last seven seconds of the shot clock over the two games, the Knicks have 18.

Stephon Castle struggled in Game 2, when he scored just two points on his six transition possessions. He

couldn’t finish through Brunson

,

got stuffed by Hart

turned the ball over

, and missed a pair of free throws after a transition foul.

Harper, meanwhile, continues to be the Spurs’ best weapon in transition, totaling 13 points on nine transition possessions in the series. He turned on the jets to drive through four Knicks for a transition layup early in the fourth quarter on Friday:

And he got the Spurs’ 14-0, fourth-quarter run started by taking a lead pass from De’Aaron Fox after a Knicks bucket and

drawing a foul

. But the Spurs will need more from everybody else if they’re going to win Game 3 on Monday (

8:30 ET, ABC/ESPN

), end the Knicks’ 13-game winning streak, and give themselves a real chance in

this series

.

Every possession, transition or otherwise, is critical.

“[Transition] is a huge part of the game for us,” Johnson said, “when we are at our best.”

We’ve yet to see the Spurs at their best, but another opportunity awaits.

* * *

John Schuhmann has covered the NBA for more than 20 years. You can e-mail him

here

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