4 Tactical Adjustments Knicks Must Make to Win Game 4

Jan 3, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown talks with guard Jalen Brunson (11) in the third quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

The officiating was questionable once again Monday night, but it wasn't the sole reason for the Knicks' Game 3 loss. Their offense looked stagnant and discombobulated for three of the four quarters. The defense struggled with miscommunication and silly fouls. And they just lacked the focus that won them 13 straight playoff games.

The refs may never get to a place the Knicks are happy about, but the good thing is, there are several changes that will pay off if they make them in Game 4.

Get Jalen Brunson off the ball more

It's no secret that the Spurs want to pressure Brunson and make things as difficult as possible with him. Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper continue to be very physical with him when he brings the ball up and that's led to a trickle-down of negatives for the Knicks.

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One, it tires Brunson out. He's came through when the team needed him the most in Games 1 and 2, but it's clear that his efficiency and effectiveness have fallen off a cliff this series. He's shooting just 37% from the field, and 31.8% from three, and is has as many turnovers as he does assists.

Two, it makes Brunson and the Knicks spend much longer getting into their offense. When this happens, they are often forced into bad shots or turnovers. And it tends to means less touches for guys like Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. That was a big reason the Knicks made 31 fewer passes Monday night than they did in Game 2, and logged a postseason-low 18 assists.

It seems like the league is going to continue allowing the Spurs to defend Brunson very physically, so the Knicks need to pivot instead of just doing the same thing and hoping for different results. It's not as easy as just having anyone else bring the ball up though.

Of the starters, Josh Hart and Bridges are only ones besides Brunson who have brought up the ball with any regularity this season. And neither are lead guards nor are they the kind of great ball handlers than Mike Brown should feel extremely confident in against the Spurs ball pressure.

Enter Jose Alvarado. The reserve point guard has been amongst the most impressive Knicks this series. He's only averaging 4.3 ppg and 1.3 apg, but good things continue to happen when he is in the game. Through three games, he's been a +20 in 33 minutes, which leads all Knicks reserves.

The Knicks haven't played a double-point guard lineup much this year, and the two have yet to share the court this postseason. Deploying two undersized guards, regardless of how ferocious Alvarado is as a defender, could create some problems of its own. But in a crucial Game 4, everything should be on the table, and that includes playing the two together.

It allows the Knicks to run more actions for Brunson, letting him to not only get better looks for himself, but for others as well. Alvarado, who has only had one turnover this entire series, can be trusted to bring the ball up with consistency (evident by the Knicks scoring 1.455 points per possession with Alvarado bringing the ball against pressure).

And the Knicks would get the added benefits of having someone who has shown the unique ability to get shots up and over Victor Wembanyama. He is also amongst the best on the team at getting Towns in the right position and feeding him the ball.

With how great Alvarado has played, and how much easier he makes life for Brunson and Towns, I'd be surprised if him playing not only more in general, but alongside Brunson hasn't at least been brought up.

Punish the Spurs for guarding Karl-Anthony Towns with Stephon Castle

Castle guarded Towns more than any other Spur in the half court Monday night. During those possessions, Towns attempted one shot. We've seen teams try this in different manners to varying degrees of success.

The 76ers and Cavaliers both tried it at times, but the Knicks found ways around it. And while the Spurs pose a much tougher challenge, there are still ways they can exploit this matchup. Traditionally, when a perimeter player guards a big man, the answer was always to just post up. Modern defenses are usually too complex for that to be effective every time, and that isn't even the best way to utilize Towns and his diverse skillset.

The Knicks need to find ways to involve Wembanyama more into the action. This sounds odd and counterintuitive. But, seeing as the Spurs' defense is built on doing everything they can to have Wembanyama roaming and playing free safety, involving him more in on-ball actions negates some of that.

Now, Wemby, being one of the modern greats defensively, will still make his plays. But if Brown can get creative and tactically find ways to remove Wembanyama from the paint, then it opens things up for everyone.

Cutters -- which Towns can hit with ease when passing over a smaller guard -- now have a larger lane, and Towns himself, now has more room to bully the smaller defender with. It would also open up more drives, which in turn, opens up the threat of a Towns three as well.

Some of this is reliant on Brown going back to, and trusting the five-out lineups (which means less Hart), but if it means getting Towns more involved, it has to happen.

Ultimately though, it still comes down to two things. The Knicks have to look for their star big man, who became the biggest reason they've made it this far. And said big man has to actively want the ball every possession down the court.

Find Wembanyama early

This goes both for early in the game and early in the possession. For some reason, New York struggled to matchup with the largest player on the court multiple times in the first quarter.

There were instances where Bridges and Landry Shamet were matched up with Wembanyama after a miss, and sometimes even after a made basket. There was also an instance where Towns inexplicable left Wembanyama to blitz a Spurs ball handler a few feet beyond the three-point line.

Whether it's miscommunication, lack of focus, or laziness, it doesn't matter. This cannot happen. The Spurs do deserve credit for pushing the pace and making a concerted effort to get Wembanyama the ball on the move, and closer to the basket. But it is unacceptable just how loose the Knicks' defense was in keeping a body on Wembanyama at all times.

Towns needs to be attached to him at all times to make things difficult for him, and his teammates need to help him out. They can worry about rotating, and the Spurs shooters after that, but if they continue to give up easy looks at the rim, everything becomes too easy for them. Make the others beat you.

Be aggressive against Luke Kornet defensively

A lot has been made about teams dominating the Kornet minutes due to the absence of Wembanyama, and a lot of that is due to how much easier scoring on the Spurs becomes with him off the court. The Knicks have had some really good moments attacking the paint when Kornet is in the game. But New York can and needs to do a better job of taking advantage of Kornet's presence on the other end as well.

There were multiple plays Monday night, especially with Mitchell Robinson, where instead of playing up on the ball handler after a Kornet screen, he kept back pedaling flat footed and without his hands being up. That's just too lazy. It's a Finals game where they have a chance to go up 3-0 against a young team.

Regardless of who is defending Kornet, when he sets a screen and rolls, they can't defend him like he's Wembanyama. It doesn't mean that they need to throw out their defensive principles or play erraticly, but it absolutely should mean pressuring the ball handlers more.