The San Antonio Spurs and New York Knicks head back to Frost Bank Center for Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday, June 13.
The Spurs are pushed against the wall and need to survive the must-win Game 5 to keep their championship hopes alive. But prominent NBA analyst Tim MacMahon thinks San Antonio is simply not ready to be champions yet.
Why Tim MacMahon Doubts the Spurs’ Championship Mindset
This year, Victor Wembanyama and Co. seemed poised to lift the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy and end the 12-year drought until they met the Knicks in the Finals. Mike Brown’s squad has proven to be a formidable opponent for the Spurs.
But it’s how San Antonio has thrown away games late that has garnered more attention than the Knicks’ resilience and their uncanny ability to come out of tight spots.
The Spurs blew a historic 29-point lead in Game 4, allowing the Knicks to take a 3-1 lead in the Finals series. These unlikely collapses, which also included Wembanyama’s blunders in the final seconds of Game 2, have led analysts to question the team’s mindset for the championship.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon gave voice to all those concerns on the latest episode of ESPN’s “Get Up.” The veteran analyst poured cold water on the Spurs’ championship hopes, citing their lack of readiness to rise to the Knicks’ challenge.
Likewise, he drew an interesting analogy between one of the world’s most resilient critters, cockroaches, and the Knicks to highlight their ability to persist even when things weren’t going their way:
“The Knicks are ready to be champions. The Spurs are not,” MacMahon asserted. “The Knicks are the world’s sexiest cockroaches. You’ve got to not just stomp on them, but squish them, flush them. Like, you can’t get rid of these guys… the Knicks are finding ways to finish.”
“They’re finding ways to come back from double-figure deficits. From a 29-point lead, a historic comeback in the Finals. But if it’s close late, the Knicks are proven closers. Jalen Brunson and that crew, and let’s just be honest, this is where the Spurs’ inexperience has reared its ugly head.”
Four games into the series, the Knicks seem to have kept their cool and responded strongly in tight situations, with MacMahon asserting they are ready to be champions this year.
However, French phenom Wembanyama has the ability to turn the tide in the Spurs’ favor at any moment. He is averaging 27.8 points per game in the Finals so far.
The only catch is that Game 5 is the Spurs’ only chance this season. They will have the home-court advantage; all they need is the winner’s mindset, which, as MacMahon stated, the Spurs have lacked so far.
