NBA Picks 3/29 – New York Knicks @ San Antonio Spurs

NBA Picks 3/29 – New York Knicks @ San Antonio Spurs

The New York Knicks (44-28, 3rd in the Eastern Conference) visit the San Antonio Spurs (17-56, 15th in the Western Conference) tonight at Frost Bank Center. New York is a 9-point favorite and the total is 212. The teams are meeting for the second and final time this season. New York blasted visiting San Antonio 126-105 on Nov. 8 as Jalen Brunson scored a game-high 25 points. New York has won five of the last six matchups against San Antonio.

The Knicks enter tonight’s game red hot after a 145-101 thrashing of the hapless Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night in Toronto. They’ve won seven of their last eight games, five of the wins have been by double digits. The 145 points were the most points the Knicks have scored since December 2006. San Antonio is coming off a 118-111 win at Utah on Wednesday night. Spurs guard Devin Vassell scored 31 points while Victor Wembanyama added 19 points and 5 blocks in the win. 

GAME STORYLINES: KNICKS

After about a two-decade run – 2000 through 2019 – of futile personnel decisions that led to a string of dismal seasons, the Knicks finally hit paydirt when they signed guard Jalen Brunson to a 4-year, $104 million deal in July 2022. Brunson spent the first four years of his NBA career playing in the enormous shadow of Luka Doncic in Dallas after being selected in the second round of the 2018 NBA draft. In his almost two full seasons as a Knick, Brunson has elevated his game to superstar status and almost singlehandedly reversed the fortunes of the Knicks franchise, which had become downtrodden in the years prior to Brunson’s arrival. 

In his first season as a Knick in 2022-23, Jalen Brunson increased his scoring average by almost 8 points from 16.3 to 24.0, he added 6.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds while shooting 49.1 percent from the floor. More importantly, Brunson led the Knicks to a 47-35 record which was their most wins since the 2012-13 season. The Knicks also won a playoff series for the first time since that 2013 season. 

Brunson has been even better this season as he’s averaging career highs of 27.4 points and 6.5 assists while shooting 47.7 percent shooting from the floor and 41.6 percent from beyond the arc. Brunson has had to carry a much bigger load this season as starters Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson and the recently acquired OG Anunoby have all missed a significant amount of time with injuries. He’s averaging 28.3 points, 6.2 assists and 2.9 threes over his last 10 games in which the Knicks have gone 8-2.

Versatile swingman Donte Divincenzo (career-high 14.9 pts, 3.5 rebs, 1.3 stls, 3.4 threes per game, 40% from 3), rugged guard Josh Hart (8.9 pts, 8.1 rebs) and center Isaiah Hartenstein (7.1 pts, 8.4 rebs, 1.2 blks, 1.1 stls, 63.5% from 2) have all been reliable and consistent contributors for the entire season as injuries and trade defections left the Knicks shorthanded on numerous occasions this season. DiVincenzo, Hart and Brunson were all teammates at Villanova for two seasons – 2015-16 and 2016-17 – under Jay Wright. It appears as if they’ve brought Villanova’s toughness and winning culture to the Knicks this season.

Unheralded guard Miles McBride has seemingly come out of nowhere and become a very good performer for the Knicks of late. McBride has started the last 5 games and is averaging 21.6 ppg, 3.8 assists, 1 steal and 4.6 threes per game while shooting 55.8 percent from the floor and 48.9 percent from long distance. He scored 29 points and knocked down 9 three-pointers in Wednesday’s 145-101 win at Toronto. The Knicks welcomed back athletic center Mitchell Robinson who missed the previous 50 games due to left ankle surgery. He started the first 21 games of the season before the injury but may have a hard time getting the starting job back from Isaiah Hartenstein who has played very well in place of Robinson.

GAME STORYLINES: SAN ANTONIO

During the 2022-23 season, every non-playoff team spent the year tanking in order to secure the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NBA draft and select 7-foot-5 phenom Victor Wembanyama. Wembanyama was one of the most hyped draft prospects in NBA history and was considered the best incoming prospect since LeBron James in 2003. San Antonio ended up tied for the second-worst record in the NBA at 22-60 but wound up winning the NBA Draft lottery in May 2023, and selected Wembanyama first overall a month later.  

Victor Wembanyama has lived up to and exceeded the lofty expectations set for him as a rookie. He’s averaging 20.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals and a league-leading 3.5 blocks per game across 64 games this season. Wembanyama has at least 5 blocked shots in 21 games and will become the second NBA rookie to lead the NBA in blocks. He’ll join Manute Bol who did it during the 1985-86 season. The 20-year-old Wembanyama has also had a historic rookie season as he’s the youngest player in NBA history to record a triple double and a 20-20 game. 

The lone blemish on Wemanyama’s spectacular rookie season is San Antonio’s win-loss record. At 17-56, San Antonio is actually on pace to finish with fewer wins than last year when they went 22-60. This is shocking when you consider they added an elite talent like Wembanyama.  

San Antonio has some promising young talent surrounding Wembanyama in 23-year-old shooting guard Devin Vassell (19.4 pts, 4 asts, 1.1 stls, 47.7% from 2, 2.4 threes per game), 24-year-old small forward Keldon Johnson (15.8 pts, 5.5 rebs) and 20-year-old power forward Jeremy Sochan (11.7 pts, 6.5 rebs, 3.4 asts). Johnson led the team in scoring last year at 22 ppg, but has seen his role diminished with the arrival of Wembanyma and the improvement of Vassell. Sochan and Vassell are recent lottery picks who will likely become substantial contributors when Wembanyama is playing at an MVP level and the Spurs are a playoff team, which should be very soon. 

THE PICK: KNICKS (-9) 

Jalen Brunson and the Knicks are in playoff form right now, while San Antonio is planning their offseason vacation, Lay the Points and take the Knicks