Hall of Famer Chris Webber Breaks Down Game 1 of the NBA Finals

Chris Webber does not often root for a team that is not his Pistons or Kings, but he made an exception for these Knicks, and after watching them win Game 1 of the NBA Finals, even the Hall of Famer was surprised.

Webber had picked San Antonio to win it all back in the preseason, an against-the-grain call given the Spurs never endured a true adversity test on their climb. But the way New York played, led by what he called a big-body Jalen Brunson performance, was simply incredible.

The matchup he kept coming back to was Karl-Anthony Towns, and specifically his rebounding. Towns defended Victor Wembanyama capably on the perimeter, but Webber was more taken with the boards. If Towns averages 12 rebounds in this series, Webber believes the Knicks win it, because rebounding controls the pace, lets New York run, and keeps Towns near the paint to help on defensive rotations. On offense, Mike Brown parks him at the free-throw line extended to facilitate and ease the load on Brunson.

That coaching wrinkle is the heart of Webber's read. He praised Tom Thibodeau as a great defensive mind, but argued these Knicks needed a coach who manufactures easy looks through play calling, decoys, ball movement and spacing, which is exactly what Brown brings. Even when Brunson was missing, Webber noted, he was missing good looks rather than forcing everything.

By contrast, San Antonio's offense betrayed it. Webber pointed to a three-for-19 fourth quarter and reached for history, recalling a Golden State team that missed 17 threes in a row against Houston and got buried for it. The same lesson applies: when you settle for threes against a team that loves to run, your offense becomes your defense, and the long rebounds turn into easy buckets the other way.

So how do the Spurs respond? Webber wants them to change the pace rather than try to win a track meet, which only wears Wembanyama down and produces bad shots. He expects more threes to fall, but his real prescription is for Wembanyama to diversify his game, living near the free-throw line where one dribble becomes a dunk, mixing in reverse pivots, punishing mismatches in the post when a defender like Josh Hart switches onto him.

His warning was about what he called empty impact. A player as talented and inexperienced as Wembanyama can post huge numbers that do not bend the game, especially if he is not drawing foul trouble or deterring drives, and Webber noticed Brunson getting to his mid-range jumper anyway. The job, he said, is to make the other team worried enough to change its strategy.

Webber still likes where the Spurs are. He loves Wembanyama's candor, the way he insisted he was not worried in the slightest, and he noted San Antonio has not lost following a Game 1 defeat. Until New York proves otherwise, though, Webber thinks the Knicks have a real chance, because they play too hard and too connected to be left hanging around.