Wemby vs KAT

[Q-is-here]

Interesting that the Spurs are 2 to 1 favorites given how dominant the Knicks have been the past 3 weeks. Just like the Spurs were the smart bet with the Thunder being 2 to 1 favorites, the Knicks have to be the smart bet here. That said, I still like the Spurs to win this series.

We all gotta have someone to cheer for, right? And this is a tough one for me because I like so many of the guys on both teams. I've decided to cheer for the Spurs though. Unlike Cool, I've always kind of liked Pop...he's got a lot of "old school" in him, and his short halftime answers were always hilarious. And I also don't mind Spike Lee too much. But it's the rest of the front 3 rows in MSG that I despise...celebrities who wouldn't go to a game unless they could be seen in the front row (okay, I guess that's Spike too) and insufferable investment bankers. As much as I like KAT, I don't want the front three rows to win, so I'm going with the Spurs.

I haven't really decided yet who I'm rooting for. The Knicks are one of these big-market coastal teams whose success as a franchise is closer to Minnesota's than Boston or L.A. They have no discernable culture or through-line as a franchise that distinguishes them from most other NBA franchises. On the other hand, this current iteration of players fit really well together and play a good brand of basketball under Mike Brown.

The Spurs are in a smaller market and have an impressive legacy built on continuity of culture, with R.C. Buford and Pop's fingerprints still all over the team. On the other hand, they are one lucky-ass franchise.

The other contrast between these two teams is that one was built almost entirely through big-game hunting trades and free agent acquisitions whereas the other is mostly through the draft. It goes to show that there is more than one way to build a contender.

I think I will just feel my way through Game One and just go with whichever team my gut tells me to root for after the first quarter or two. I almost want the Spurs to win it just to get it out of the way so they have less motivation next season!

[Coolbreeze44]

I've decided to root for the Spurs. Greg Popovich is a prick, and no one is going to convince me otherwise. But he's not the head coach now and I really like Mitch. Spike was never someone I liked, but my disdain grew for him this year when he wore pro Palestinian colors to the all star game. I felt terrible for Deni Avdija. Go Spurs.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Why I want the Knicks to win the NBA title.

1. Towns was not my favorite Timberwolves player. Not even close. I didn't mind him... he was really good and seemed to be a solid teammate and person. I just dig guards a lot more than bigs. And... well... he was a bit corny. He had all the stray voltage stuff. Et al.

But man... the guy has persevered. He sacrificed (as far as NBA stars making $50M can sacrifice.) The story of how he showed up to Johnny K's daughter's soccer match the day after being traded is endearing. He's also eaten a lot of proverbial shit, from fans to players to HIS OWN COACH (Thibs) to podcasters to announcers to online rubes, et al. Meanwhile, his big man counter Wemby is being heaped with so much praise at such a young age and yet most of it seems remarkably warranted.

Towns secret sauce might just be how resilient he has been... and is? Maybe it's a cool story to have that rewarded.

I think it would be one heckuva arc for Towns to win a title. As a bonus, I'm a hometown sports rube. And since we don't have a title in my adult life from any team here... maybe seeing Garnett, Love and Towns win titles shortly after leaving is the closest thing we'll ever have. LOL.

2. New York can be a shithole. And annoying. But there's also no other place in the world like it. It's an experience all its own. And MSG is its own unique experience. I want to see the chaos with a NY run + championship. I want to be entertained and getting to see that place go bonkers in my lifetime seems a lot more fun than the first of several more championships in San Antonio... a city that already has 5 titles in the past quarter-century. (yawn)

3. The Spurs will be here again. The Knicks maybe, possibly could. But will the next iteration have this sort of push behind it? With a team as... not necessarily likeable... but not one I hate either. And will it have the Towns redemption arc. Plus, I have the relatively fresh memories of seeing this Knicks team lose to "our" beloved Celtics in a great OT game in MSG with my son.

It's the perfect time for me to have the Knicks win.

4. I don't dig Jalen Brunson. But I still play, coach and watch basketball regularly. I'm 6'0"... and I've always been one of the smaller guys on the court. Today's NBA is built to turn smaller guards (especially pass-first PGs) into tiny little dinosaurs. So I like the David v Goliath vibe between the short Brunson v. the gigantic Wemby. To be fair, I don't know what it feels like to be either of those guys... but I can squint enough to envision Brunson's battle. I have no connection with a 7'6" guy.

5. The Knicks are the underdog... and when I don't have a real dog in the fight... that's often the route I take. Heck, I rooted AGAINST Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant + LeBron James for basically my entire life... while also being a die-hard Timberwolves fan. That's a rough few decades of NBA fandom... can it get much worse? Yet here I still am... still a fan despite watching my favorite players (from Bird to Isiah to Stockton to Nash) lose to those guys repeatedly throughout the years.

The more I think about it... and the more I write...

The more I want the Knicks to win.

[rapsuperstar31]

I've decided to root for the Spurs. Greg Popovich is a prick, and no one is going to convince me otherwise. But he's not the head coach now and I really like Mitch. Spike was never someone I liked, but my disdain grew for him this year when he wore pro Palestinian colors to the all star game. I felt terrible for Deni Avdija. Go Spurs.

Must have been fine with Wemby being vocal against Ice?

[Coolbreeze44]

I've decided to root for the Spurs. Greg Popovich is a prick, and no one is going to convince me otherwise. But he's not the head coach now and I really like Mitch. Spike was never someone I liked, but my disdain grew for him this year when he wore pro Palestinian colors to the all star game. I felt terrible for Deni Avdija. Go Spurs.

Must have been fine with Wemby being vocal against Ice?

Ice, Ice, Baby

[Q-is-here]

Why I want the Knicks to win the NBA title.

1. Towns was not my favorite Timberwolves player. Not even close. I didn't mind him... he was really good and seemed to be a solid teammate and person. I just dig guards a lot more than bigs. And... well... he was a bit corny. He had all the stray voltage stuff. Et al.

But man... the guy has persevered. He sacrificed (as far as NBA stars making $50M can sacrifice.) The story of how he showed up to Johnny K's daughter's soccer match the day after being traded is endearing. He's also eaten a lot of proverbial shit, from fans to players to HIS OWN COACH (Thibs) to podcasters to announcers to online rubes, et al. Meanwhile, his big man counter Wemby is being heaped with so much praise at such a young age and yet most of it seems remarkably warranted.

Towns secret sauce might just be how resilient he has been... and is? Maybe it's a cool story to have that rewarded.

I think it would be one heckuva arc for Towns to win a title. As a bonus, I'm a hometown sports rube. And since we don't have a title in my adult life from any team here... maybe seeing Garnett, Love and Towns win titles shortly after leaving is the closest thing we'll ever have. LOL.

2. New York can be a shithole. And annoying. But there's also no other place in the world like it. It's an experience all its own. And MSG is its own unique experience. I want to see the chaos with a NY run + championship. I want to be entertained and getting to see that place go bonkers in my lifetime seems a lot more fun than the first of several more championships in San Antonio... a city that already has 5 titles in the past quarter-century. (yawn)

3. The Spurs will be here again. The Knicks maybe, possibly could. But will the next iteration have this sort of push behind it? With a team as... not necessarily likeable... but not one I hate either. And will it have the Towns redemption arc. Plus, I have the relatively fresh memories of seeing this Knicks team lose to "our" beloved Celtics in a great OT game in MSG with my son.

It's the perfect time for me to have the Knicks win.

4. I don't dig Jalen Brunson. But I still play, coach and watch basketball regularly. I'm 6'0"... and I've always been one of the smaller guys on the court. Today's NBA is built to turn smaller guards (especially pass-first PGs) into tiny little dinosaurs. So I like the David v Goliath vibe between the short Brunson v. the gigantic Wemby. To be fair, I don't know what it feels like to be either of those guys... but I can squint enough to envision Brunson's battle. I have no connection with a 7'6" guy.

5. The Knicks are the underdog... and when I don't have a real dog in the fight... that's often the route I take. Heck, I rooted AGAINST Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant + LeBron James for basically my entire life... while also being a die-hard Timberwolves fan. That's a rough few decades of NBA fandom... can it get much worse? Yet here I still am... still a fan despite watching my favorite players (from Bird to Isiah to Stockton to Nash) lose to those guys repeatedly throughout the years.

The more I think about it... and the more I write...

The more I want the Knicks to win.

You make a very good case for the Knicks Abe. I'm still undecided, but your little essay here is quite compelling.

[FNG]

There are some persuasive arguments here for changing my allegiance in this series to the Knicks...most notably the presence of our guy KAT and the fact that they are a sizable underdog...but I just can't do it. I was on the East Coast for portions of my 20s, and still cringe at the disregard (and geographic stupidity) so many New Yorkers had for any state west of the Hudson River that wasn't California. So many times some knucklehead would ask me "So why do you want to live in Mindianapolis". So for decades I have been unable to cheer for any New York team in any sport, unless they were playing a team with a bunch of guys I hate. And since I don't dislike anyone on the Spurs, I'm now comfortable backing them 100%.

Whoever is going to have Brunson "guarding" him is going to have a big series I think...I think the Spurs are going to relentlessly target him.

[Q-is-here]

There are some persuasive arguments here for changing my allegiance in this series to the Knicks...most notably the presence of our guy KAT and the fact that they are a sizable underdog...but I just can't do it. I was on the East Coast for portions of my 20s, and still cringe at the disregard (and geographic stupidity) so many New Yorkers had for any state west of the Hudson River that wasn't California. So many times some knucklehead would ask me "So why do you want to live in Mindianapolis". So for decades I have been unable to cheer for any New York team in any sport, unless they were playing a team with a bunch of guys I hate. And since I don't dislike anyone on the Spurs, I'm now comfortable backing them 100%.

Whoever is going to have Brunson "guarding" him is going to have a big series I think...I think the Spurs are going to relentlessly target him.

Yeah, a lot of the Philly natives I run into out here really don't know the difference between Michigan and Minnesota. To them, the whole Great Lakes/Upper Midwest region is just one big blob of land and water without any idea of how its oriented. Also, to a lot of folks here the Midwest starts in Pittsburgh and ends in Chicago.

Brunson is going to be in for a rude awakening having Stephon Castle guard him instead of John Doe, er, I mean Dean Wade. I suppose they will target Fox and try to get Brunson matched up on him offensively, but still, they can only pick on that so much with Dylan Harper perfectly capable of playing as much as needed in place of Fox. The Knicks haven't seen ANYTHING like the Playoff Spurs defense.

Still....I thought OKC would absolutely trounce Indiana last year and the Pacers held tough going seven games with the Thunder. Anything can happen.

[FNG]

There are some persuasive arguments here for changing my allegiance in this series to the Knicks...most notably the presence of our guy KAT and the fact that they are a sizable underdog...but I just can't do it. I was on the East Coast for portions of my 20s, and still cringe at the disregard (and geographic stupidity) so many New Yorkers had for any state west of the Hudson River that wasn't California. So many times some knucklehead would ask me "So why do you want to live in Mindianapolis". So for decades I have been unable to cheer for any New York team in any sport, unless they were playing a team with a bunch of guys I hate. And since I don't dislike anyone on the Spurs, I'm now comfortable backing them 100%.

Whoever is going to have Brunson "guarding" him is going to have a big series I think...I think the Spurs are going to relentlessly target him.

Yeah, a lot of the Philly natives I run into out here really don't know the difference between Michigan and Minnesota. To them, the whole Great Lakes/Upper Midwest region is just one big blob of land and water without any idea of how its oriented. Also, to a lot of folks here the Midwest starts in Pittsburgh and ends in Chicago.

Brunson is going to be in for a rude awakening having Stephon Castle guard him instead of John Doe, er, I mean Dean Wade. I suppose they will target Fox and try to get Brunson matched up on him offensively, but still, they can only pick on that so much with Dylan Harper perfectly capable of playing as much as needed in place of Fox. The Knicks haven't seen ANYTHING like the Playoff Spurs defense.

Still....I thought OKC would absolutely trounce Indiana last year and the Pacers held tough going seven games with the Thunder. Anything can happen.

Ha, you know how it is in the East! Going to college in Connecticut, the Knicks were actually my team for a few years. And being the senior member of this volleyball brotherhood, I'm likely the only guy who watched live on TV as Willis Reed walked out of the tunnel in Game 7 of the finals against the Lakers in 1970. But as great as that team was with Reed, Bradley and Clyde, my favorite will always be Dave DeBusschere. Reed got hurt during game 5 of that series and DeBusschere had to guard Wilt the rest of that game and most of game 6...giving up about 7 inches! And I think he put up close to 20/20 in Game 7. One of my favorite players of all time.

But when I moved back to the midwest, my dislike of every NY (and LA) sports team developed and grew...so I'm team Spurs the next couple weeks!

[Monster]

Interesting that the Spurs are 2 to 1 favorites given how dominant the Knicks have been the past 3 weeks. Just like the Spurs were the smart bet with the Thunder being 2 to 1 favorites, the Knicks have to be the smart bet here. That said, I still like the Spurs to win this series.

We all gotta have someone to cheer for, right? And this is a tough one for me because I like so many of the guys on both teams. I've decided to cheer for the Spurs though. Unlike Cool, I've always kind of liked Pop...he's got a lot of "old school" in him, and his short halftime answers were always hilarious. And I also don't mind Spike Lee too much. But it's the rest of the front 3 rows in MSG that I despise...celebrities who wouldn't go to a game unless they could be seen in the front row (okay, I guess that's Spike too) and insufferable investment bankers. As much as I like KAT, I don't want the front three rows to win, so I'm going with the Spurs.

Fwiw I think Spike Lee would go to a game even if he had to sit far from the front rows.