Jason Burgos
According to a top NBA insider, there are quite a few coaches and scouts around the league who are surprised the New York Knicks are not getting better odds for their NBA Finals matchup against the San Antonio Spurs.
The NBA is getting a dream matchup for this year’s Finals. For the first time in 27 years, the biggest media market in America will have a team in the championship round with Jalen Brunson and the Knicks. On the other side of the equation is a young, talented Spurs team led by the player most expect to take the mantle for LeBron James and Stephen Curry as the face of the league, Victor Wembanyama.
The Knicks have been on fire over the last month and have been putting up historic numbers after scoring series sweeps in the semifinals and conference finals. Yet, despite their impressive play, they head into the event as the underdogs on every betting side. On DraftKings, they have +160 odds. FanDuel has them at a similar +162, and BetMGM has them as slightly bigger underdogs at +170.
The Spurs are also an early favorite among NBA analysts. Which makes sense, since they had the second-best record in the NBA this season. And boast Defensive Player of the Year and MVP finalist Wembanyama. Yet, it seems coaches and scouts around the game think the betting sites and those analysts are underestimating the Knicks in a major way.
Coaches & scouts ‘absolutely’ think NBA Finals could go NY Knicks way
“You know, the more and more people I’ve talked to people around the league, scouts and other coaches, they’re really surprised that the Spurs are favored by as much as they are,” ESPN insider Brian Windhorst said on a Tuesday episode of Get Up.
“They get with Wembanyama and how tough the West playoffs were, but they really believe that the Knicks have some advantages in the series and that this thing could absolutely go New York’s way.”
While the Spurs’ defense gave the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder and MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander trouble, there are some who believe Brunson has a style better suited to combat San Antonio’s defense. Other followers of the sport also believe OG Anunoby could be a big X-factor in making things difficult for Wembanyama on offense.
The Knicks beat the Spurs in this season’s Emirates NBA Cup final, and they were not as good as the team fans have seen since late April.
