Kristian Winfield: Knicks title hopes could hinge on strong starts to first quarters
· Yahoo Sports
SAN ANTONIO — If the Spurs win a first quarter, eight times out of ten, they go on to win the basketball game. That’s bad news for a Knicks team that’s built a poor habit of playing catch-up after slow starts both in the regular season and in the playoffs.
The Spurs have been the NBA’s most dominant first-quarter playoff force: They are 8-2 in games they’ve won the first quarter this playoff run, the only losses coming in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers, then Game 3 of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
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On paper, the Knicks are the best first-quarter team in the playoffs, boasting a 27.6 net rating in opening periods and riding an 11-game winning streak into the NBA Finals. But they fell behind by 22 points in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers before closing the game on an obscene 44-11 run. And they haven’t quite been tested — to no fault of their own — in the run-up to the Finals: The Knicks avoided both the No. 1 Detroit Pistons and No. 2 Boston Celtics, instead running through the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers before eviscerating James Harden and Donovan Mitchell to reach the Finals for the first time in 53 years.
Now comes the real test. True hostile, enemy territory the likes of which even the most rabid Knicks fan base can’t infiltrate across the country. And a true championship-caliber opponent in the Spurs, who will use a quick turnaround to their advantage against a Knicks team, once again, coming off of eight days of rest in-between playoff series.
“We can’t control the break. The reality is our job at-hand right now is making sure our bodies are right, making sure our minds are right, making sure we’re paying attention to details. We’ve been incredibly sharp and locked-in, and taking care of the controllables was just really all you can do,” backup sharpshooter Landry Shamet said after practice at the team’s Tarrytown training facility on Monday. “And then when the ball is tipped up in a couple of days, it’ll be right back into the swing of things of a series. And you know, that’s been our sole focus: keeping that competitive edge and staying locked into the rhythm of a playoff series coming up.”
The Knicks have found success in Game 1s of this playoff run. They beat the Hawks by 11, the 76ers by 39, then came back from down 22 to force overtime and beat the Cavaliers by 11. They had home-court advantage in each of those series openers. That will not be the case against a Spurs team that won 62 games during the regular season.
“Just being aware of going into an environment where the opposing team is going to generate a lot of energy. Our crowd is one of the best, if not the best, in the league, and the energy we get from playing here, at Madison Square Garden, is unbelievable. There are probably other buildings that, in their players’ minds, give them that same energy,” said Brown. “So knowing that it’s gonna be hostile, we don’t have the energy of the crowd to help us get over the hump, and so we have to come out — not come out and jump on them, I’m not saying that — but we have to come out with a purpose, not just physically, but mentally as well, so we don’t fall behind, because the crowd will really feed into that.”
The Spurs do not typically give leads away after building them. The Knicks don’t want an encore of the mistakes that nearly cost them their opener in the conference finals.
“The focus is on going on the road and winning Game 1. And it’s been the same. This isn’t our first long break we’ve had. So, more of the same,” added Shamet. “And focusing on the details, game plan, not getting too crazy or outside of the box. The reality is we’re here for a reason and we don’t need to reinvent the wheel entirely. So staying with our principles and focusing on the little things and building up to try to go Game 1.”