NBA Games Discussion Thread - Part 6

Kanyewest · Post #1601 » by **Kanyewest** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 6:11 am

Spurs not resting Wemby enough was the difference (although people can point to a lot of things including the Fox miss, Harper turnover at halfcourt). Maybe it would have fallen apart with Kornet on the floor although fatigue clearly played a role in some of Wemby's defense, him not getting to the paint as much, and missed free throws down the stretch.

Still great poise by the Knicks. Still 1 more to go for the Knicks, but better than 2 more to go for sure.

9 and 20 · Post #1602 » by **9 and 20** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 9:34 am

Wemby went from villian to injured baby deer in the headlights. Wow.

closg00 · Post #1603 » by **closg00** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 9:45 am

closg00 wrote:The Spurs solved the Knicks real quick. I guess I gotta hope for OKC to bounce-back next-year to make things interesting, otherwise people are not going to watch the Spurs steamroll in every finals appearance.

I guess I gotta learn the hard way, never count these Knicks out.

prime1time · Post #1604 » by **prime1time** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 11:49 am

closg00 wrote:
closg00 wrote:The Spurs solved the Knicks real quick. I guess I gotta hope for OKC to bounce-back next-year to make things interesting, otherwise people are not going to watch the Spurs steamroll in every finals appearance.

I guess I gotta learn the hard way, never count these Knicks out.

That was not about the Knicks. Give credit to the Knicks they played hard, but that was about the Spurs. They went all in on De'Aaron Fox and he's just not a guy who runs an offense or manages the game. They need someone who is able to play the game but also to be objective about what's going on. Someone who makes good decisions. Watching the Spurs play is like watching a very fast moving boat that doesn't know where it's headed. They move fast but are they actually getting closer to their destination. Spurs also lack experienced wings. They have no one to guard OG who just dominates them. OG would be my pick for MVP. He's shooting 56/52/92. Last game he was 10/15, 7/9 from 3 lol. I expect the Spurs to go all out to get some athletic 3 and D wings.

payitforward · Post #1605 » by **payitforward** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 12:10 pm

The most informed commentary I can muster is... WOW!!

closg00 · Post #1606 » by **closg00** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 12:33 pm

Copied this from Polymarket:

With 12 seconds left, De’Aaron Fox had the ball & the lead but forgot the score and lost the ball...

With 2 seconds left, De’Aaron Fox forgot to box out OG Anunoby who tipped in the Finals winning shot...

The Spurs will pay De’Aaron Fox $51,033,600.00 next season.

Paris41 · Post #1607 » by **Paris41** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 1:15 pm

Fox is getting way too much heat. The tip in play wasn’t his fault at all. The spurs decided to not guard the inbounder (Anunoby) so no one was matched up on him to box out.

Wemby goes 0-2 from the FT line with the game on the line.

Harper had a wide open passing lane to Castle for the GW and turned it over.

AFM · Post #1608 » by **AFM** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 1:34 pm

Right. They already blew a 30 point lead by the time Fox made some huge mistakes.

Kanyewest · Post #1609 » by **Kanyewest** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 1:41 pm

closg00 wrote:Copied this from Polymarket:

With 12 seconds left, De’Aaron Fox had the ball & the lead but forgot the score and lost the ball...

With 2 seconds left, De’Aaron Fox forgot to box out OG Anunoby who tipped in the Finals winning shot...

The Spurs will pay De’Aaron Fox $51,033,600.00 next season.

Fox did double Brunson which allowed OG to be open on the play not only from 3 but for the offensive rebound.

Paris41 · Post #1610 » by **Paris41** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 1:43 pm

prime1time wrote:Spurs to go all out to get some athletic 3 and D wings.

I keep saying it, they are going to have to trade Castle. Harper is a flat out better lead guard, obviously way too much money invested in Fox.

Castle is going to be a unique fit for any team. He’s not a true lead guard/playmaker, but doesn’t shoot it well enough to be an off ball wing. He’s a Jalen Suggs type. Useful defensive minded combo guard.

They win the game if Harper played more down the stretch instead of Castle/Fox. I’m keeping an eye on a Kyshawn/Castle trade a year from now.

prime1time · Post #1611 » by **prime1time** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 1:45 pm

Paris41 wrote:
prime1time wrote:Spurs to go all out to get some athletic 3 and D wings.

I keep saying it, they are going to have to trade Castle. Harper is a flat out better lead guard, obviously way too much money invested in Fox.

Castle is going to be a unique fit for any team. He’s not a true lead guard/playmaker, but doesn’t shoot it well enough to be an off ball wing. He’s a Jalen Suggs type. Useful defensive minded combo guard.

They win the game if Harper played more down the stretch instead of Castle/Fox. I’m keeping an eye on a Kyshawn/Castle trade a year from now.

I think they keep Castle. He's gotten so much better each game. Fox is old Castle is in his second year, he can learn. Castle's one of the best defensive guards in the game and he's a 2 way player. The thing about the Spurs is they are still a young team. Wemby, Castle and Harper are all on rookie deals. They should add Randle or Kawhi.

Post #1612 » by **montestewart** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 1:50 pm

AFM wrote:One of the best games I've ever watched.

My wife went to sleep at halftime. I said, "No one's ever come back from 27 points down. You wouldn't want to miss that."

Post #1613 » by **nate33** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 2:01 pm

Paris41 wrote:
prime1time wrote:Spurs to go all out to get some athletic 3 and D wings.

I keep saying it, they are going to have to trade Castle. Harper is a flat out better lead guard, obviously way too much money invested in Fox.

Castle is going to be a unique fit for any team. He’s not a true lead guard/playmaker, but doesn’t shoot it well enough to be an off ball wing. He’s a Jalen Suggs type. Useful defensive minded combo guard.

They win the game if Harper played more down the stretch instead of Castle/Fox. I’m keeping an eye on a Kyshawn/Castle trade a year from now.

Castle isn't going anywhere. They've got no cap problems whatsoever for a while.

Next year, they have their top 9 guys under contract and the total payroll is still below the cap. They have about $48M of room to spend before they hit the luxtax threshold.

In 2027-28, Wemby will get a max deal and Champagnie and Keldon Johnson are up for new contracts. Still, they will be in good shape. Let's assume they pay Wemby the supermax and they keep Champagnie at roughly an MLE salary, they'd still be about $20M below the luxtax threshold. Carter Bryant takes over the Keldon Johnson role. Add in the salary of a couple of FRP's from the 2026 and 2027 drafts and their depth should be good with costs under control.

Things don't get dicey until 2028. That's when Castle is up for a new deal. But even that might be manageable as Kornet comes off the books. Maybe they have to go over the luxtax line a bit if Castle gets like $30M. If he gets a full max salary of $45M-ish, it'll be a problem.

It doesn't really completely fall apart until 2029 when Harper is up for a new deal. Keeping a resigned Wemby, Castle and Harper, with Fox still on the books is totally impossible.

So really, all they have to do is find a way to unload Fox's contract for a contract that expires preferably in 2028, but by 2029 at the latest. That shouldn't be too difficult. Fox's contract lasts until 2030, so they're really just trying to dump one really bad year of salary. I think they will use picks to move that deal before they ever let Castle walk in free agency.

Post #1614 » by **Rafael122** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 2:04 pm

Co-worker thinks someone like Zion makes a lot of sense for them. We were saying Wemby and 4 guards is probably not a recipe for success. He needs a bruising 4 that can also be a threat from 3.

Honestly the best game I've ever watched.

Kanyewest · Post #1615 » by **Kanyewest** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 2:05 pm

Rafael122 wrote:Co-worker thinks someone like Zion makes a lot of sense for them. We were saying Wemby and 4 guards is probably not a recipe for success. He needs a bruising 4 that can also be a threat from 3.

Honestly the best game I've ever watched.

Zion has stopped shooting 3s but maybe the Spurs coaching staff could fix that.

Doug_Blew · Post #1616 » by **Doug_Blew** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 2:11 pm

closg00 wrote:Copied this from Polymarket:

With 12 seconds left, De’Aaron Fox had the ball & the lead but forgot the score and lost the ball...

With 2 seconds left, De’Aaron Fox forgot to box out OG Anunoby who tipped in the Finals winning shot...

The Spurs will pay De’Aaron Fox $51,033,600.00 next season.

Josh Hart basically did these same things, but with more time on the clock.

Post #1617 » by **nate33** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 2:14 pm

Rafael122 wrote:Co-worker thinks someone like Zion makes a lot of sense for them. We were saying Wemby and 4 guards is probably not a recipe for success. He needs a bruising 4 that can also be a threat from 3.

Honestly the best game I've ever watched.

I don't think he is a good fit. Yes, they need a bruising 4 who can shoot, but I think they're better off with one who is more of a defensive-minded role player than one his a high usage scorer with suspect defense. They need an OG Anunoby or Aaron Gordon prototype in that spot, not a Zion prototype.

Rui Hachimura could be an interesting free agency acquisition.
Tari Eason would be even better if they could work out a S&T for Keldon Johnson and a FRP.

Post #1618 » by **nate33** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 2:15 pm

Doug_Blew wrote:
closg00 wrote:Copied this from Polymarket:

With 12 seconds left, De’Aaron Fox had the ball & the lead but forgot the score and lost the ball...

With 2 seconds left, De’Aaron Fox forgot to box out OG Anunoby who tipped in the Finals winning shot...

The Spurs will pay De’Aaron Fox $51,033,600.00 next season.

Josh Hart basically did these same things, but with more time on the clock.

When you are behind, taking that shot on the fast break is the right decision. (Obviously, missing the layup is bad. But it's not stupid.)

Zonkerbl · Post #1619 » by **Zonkerbl** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 2:25 pm

Fox didn't miss the layup, the knicks hustled back and blocked the shot. credit to the knicks for that win. not being fast enough to beat the defense down the floor is not a bad decision. that is pure grit from the knicks side.

Lol at "experts" expecting 6'3" De'Aaron Fox to box out Anunoby

Post #1620 » by **nate33** » Thu Jun 11, 2026 2:49 pm

Zonkerbl wrote:Fox didn't miss the layup, the knicks hustled back and blocked the shot. credit to the knicks for that win. not being fast enough to beat the defense down the floor is not a bad decision. that is pure grit from the knicks side.

Lol at "experts" expecting 6'3" De'Aaron Fox to box out Anunoby

I was referring to Josh Hart blowing the layup.