Knicks Watching Thunder and Spurs' Flaws Be Put on Full Display in WCF

The NBA Western Conference Finals are officially headed to Game 7, so the Knicks must wait until Saturday night to find out their opponent for the last series of the playoffs. While no one likes the waiting game, it also provides New York with another chance to gather valuable intel on its potential matchup.

While each side is dangerous, this never-ending WCF is also putting a spotlight on the weaknesses of both teams, which the Knicks can use to their advantage.

Banged-up, foul-reliant, top-heavy Thunder don't look as scary to Knicks anymore

Oklahoma City has been treated by many as a juggernaut throughout the regular season and playoffs, but they're facing serious challenges in their quest to repeat as champions.

Injuries

First and foremost, the Thunder have two major injuries impacting things, as Ajay Mitchell has sat out the last three games with a calf strain, while standout wing Jalen Williams is dealing with a reaggravated hamstring issue.

Williams has missed nine total games just in these playoffs due to the ailment, and his return in Game 6 on Thursday was a disaster (one point, two turnovers, minus-18 in 10 minutes).

After a rough return, Jalen Williams (minus-18 in 10 minutes) exited the arena without talking to the media.
— Tim MacMahon (@BannedMacMahon) May 29, 2026

Mitchell and Williams are the Thunder's No. 3 and No. 4 scorers in this postseason, which is a huge blow to have both either sitting out entirely or playing through and not being close to 100%.

Now, OKC will get three full days of rest after Game 7 if they advance to the Finals. But there is no guarantee that's enough time for Williams to reach even 70% of his usual form, considering how he looks right now. And Mitchell being an early rule-out for Game 6 shows he's further behind in his recovery.

SGA dependence and struggling supporting cast

Even with Williams and Mitchell healthy, the Thunder have still been heavily reliant on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the postseason, but that strategy hasn't proved as fruitful against a real contender. Though SGA has 24.3 ppg to show in the WCF, he's getting that on very poor shooting, including 37.9% from the field and just 26.1% from deep.

Of course, he's a menace at the free-throw line, earning 54 attempts against the Spurs and sinking 52 of them. But the newly crowned NBA MVP is looking more one-dimensional than ever.

Shai is just 38.2% from midrange and 26.1% from three in this series. He's being forced to live off a super tough shot diet, but this is where his shotmaking is supposed to be a superpower, and this just isn't gonna cut it.

Game 7 is going to be a massive legacy game for him.
— Carson Breber (@Carsobi) May 29, 2026

Contrast that with the theme of the Knicks' playoffs, which has been a well-rounded starting lineup that features not one but several guys who have won games for this team. Being able to change approaches and still succeed, like using less Jalen Brunson isolation and more Karl-Anthony Towns as a hub when needed, is also at the core of this 11-game winning streak.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma City is living and dying with SGA being able to get to the line and praying for contributions elsewhere. The Thunder have gotten lucky with Alex Caruso catching fire (55.9% from deep against the Spurs so far), but regression is coming.

That's not even to mention the inefficient Jared McCain (35.8% from the field and 28.2% from deep in the WCF) now being a top secondary scoring option, or Chet Holmgren averaging just 11.8 ppg during the conference finals, a steep drop-off from the 17.1 he had during the regular season.

Lack of physicality

Speaking of Holmgren, he's also been a major part of the Thunder losing the battle inside the paint this series. He's managed an okay 46 rebounds across six games while seeing Isaiah Hartenstein (50) pass him up despite the latter playing 51 fewer minutes to this point.

Overall, Oklahoma City is losing the rebound battle 288-259 to San Antonio. The Thunder are allowing the Spurs to record a staggering offensive rebounding percentage of 29.7%, so Victor Wembanyama and co. are creating an extra possession nearly a third of the time a shot misses.

OKC also has just two players (Hartenstein and Holmgren) averaging more than 4.5 rebounds per game in this series, which is a great sign for the Knicks, no matter if Mitchell Robinson plays Game 1 or not.

Spurs' inexperience, other options stand out compared to Knicks

On the other side, the Spurs look every bit of a young team trying to figure out how to win on the sport's biggest stage.

Mental mistakes

One thing that stands out about San Antonio in this series is the frustrations that have surfaced, both on and off the court.

This shows up in the box score, where the Spurs have committed a whopping 100 turnovers in six games, compared to only 86 for the Thunder. More than half (54) of these come from the trio of Wemby, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, who are in Year 3, 2 and 1 in terms of their NBA careers.

This is a sign of their youth, and it could also be the toll of a playoff run catching up to them. San Antonio is set to play its 18th game of the postseason on Saturday, while the Knicks and Thunder are only at 14 at the moment.

"The way they guard, how physical they are we don't get that same luxury to be able to play as physical on the other end at times"

Stephon Castle on the Thunder's aggressive defense 😳 pic.twitter.com/G078gMBM0v
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 27, 2026

The Spurs have also let the Thunder's foul-seeking get to their head, with players venting about it publicly. Wembanyama also blew off the media following an ugly Game 5.

New York, which touts a starting lineup with each player in Year 7 or later and a mentally challenging ECF in 2025 to learn from, clearly has the advantage in experience. There's also leadership that comes with that, which is valuable when games turn chippy or things don't go initially as hoped.

Wemby or bust

Like the Thunder, the Spurs are also primarily reliant on their best player to lead the charge. Just look at their three wins in the WCF: Wemby scored 41, 33 and 28 points in them. Meanwhile, in their three losses, he scored 21, 26 and only 20. This is the kind of variability that comes with a young star still learning on the job.

Outside of Wembanyama, Stephon Castle is the only other steady hand. Then there are two guards working through recent injuries (De'Aaron Fox and Dylan Harper), and a cast of wings in Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie and Keldon Johnson who aren't really determining games. Case in point: the Spurs have lost each of the games in which Vassell (Game 2), Champagnie (Game 5) and Johnson (Game 5) set their series highs for points.

Johnson, in particular, has struggled in these playoffs. He's seen his PPG fall to just 8.5 after logging 13.2 in the regular season, putting even more pressure on Wemby to carry the load.

Brunson is living an entirely different life in these playoffs, as he's had the likes of Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Miles McBride and even Landry Shamet step up to win games aside from his main support in KAT and OG Anunoby. This difference in supporting casts is one of the main reasons the Spurs may be the "easier" NBA Finals opponent.

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