In Game 1, the Knicks picked up where the Thunder left off. Champagnie was effective, hitting five 3s at a 50% clip, but his partner Vassell struggled, missing all but one of his six attempts. In Game 2, however, their fortunes improved. The Spurs still lost the game (off the back, literally, of one of the wildest sequences in recent Finals history), but Vassell and Champagnie finished with 43% and 40% marks, respectively. 

Game 3 was a continuation of San Antonio’s shooting success pertaining to those two, Vassell connecting on 75% of his 3s and Champagnie at 43%. It comes as no surprise that San Antonio’s best-performing lineup in terms of shot quality on Monday — a +17 in 19 possessions — was also their most-used lineup, featuring both Vassell and Champagnie. The improved and concerted playmaking prowess from Wembanyama, Stephon Castle and De’Aaron Fox worked in tandem with the Spurs premier shooters to maximize efficiency.”

Play 2026 Soccer Pick 'Em with FOX One and make your picks for the world's biggest soccer tournament

“Those guys obviously provide, especially you talk about the guys that played substantial minutes, the highest shooting performance over time and consistency,” Johnson said. “Those guys bring great space to Victor, who draws gravity in his own way. The three playmakers that have the ball in their hands a lot in terms of De'Aaron, Dylan [Harper], and Steph. They're great fits with those guys.”

It starts with alignment. Since taking the job, one of Johnson’s shooting pillars — aside from intentional pace — has been creating advantages not only for Wembanyama, but for those around him. Part of the reason why the Frenchman had struggled with start-to-finish effectiveness, outside of Karl-Anthony Towns’ brilliance, had been because the Spurs’ spacing was off. A player of Wembanyama’s size needs ample room to operate which means more often than not, the restricted area should be vacant. Where San Antonio was running into issues was when Castle, who thrives off paint touches and downhill drives, wanted to attack at the same time that Wembanyama did and vice versa. 

The possession below showcases one of Johnson’s preferred alignments, keeping his two best shooters on the same side of the floor, with one occupying the wing and another stationed in the corner. What this should do in theory is punish teams with medium or compact defensive shells (the Knicks utilized this on over half of their possessions, per Synergy tracking data) and those that aren’t pressuring the ball at a high rate (50%).

Keeping Vassell and Champagnie together away from the strongside action naturally forces the opposing defenders to key in on the ball and space, allowing Fox, who excels at getting into the paint to create chances. Watch as the Knicks defenders have their backs completely turned to San Antonio’s shooters, allowing Vassell to catch and fire. The Spurs scored 1.159 points per chance on paint touches, with that number skyrocketing to 1.5 PPP on 3-point attempts. 

“The goal is always to go inside,” Wembanyama said. “The best shot in the game is an alley-oop. The most efficient shot. But teams don't just let you do that. What we've built with this team is we have an identity that makes everybody dangerous. Sometimes it will pay off over a season, over a playoff series. We're going to get easy buckets, inside buckets like I did last night.”

A few possessions later, we saw the same weakside spacing again work to perfection. Granted, Castle draining a 26-footer isn’t on most folks’ bingo cards, but the point isn’t the shot itself. It’s the possibility of everything else. Wembanyama, who does a smart job of screening Towns away while opening himself up for a potential roll is key. (Wemby finished with six assists in Game 3, doing an excellent job of blending his scoring threat with the Spurs’ spacing and capitalizing on New York’s approach.)

The optionality with both Vassell and Champagnie on the floor allows San Antonio to mix up sets as well. In the possession below, Fox instructs Vassell to occupy the opposite corner as Champagnie, again leaving the middle of the floor wide open. Wembanyama immediately screens and releases, turning their possession into a 4-on-3 advantage. The Frenchman tries to punish Jalen Brunson for hedging his bet, but Champagnie, an underrated “catch-and-go” option, is able to quickly find the relocated Wembanyama for a 3. 

Game 4 will present its own unique challenges. The Knicks, who spent a good chunk of Monday night berating the free-throw disparity, understand where they went wrong in a winnable game and should presumably return to their playoff proficiency. But the Spurs aren’t going away quietly and the more they lean into their intentional spacing, the better Wembanyama — and everyone else by proxy — will be. 

“Those guys have been really, really good pieces,” Johnson said. “ I think more than their shooting, it's both their growth in everything but the shooting. A lot of guys in this league can make shots. … Those guys being winning players, team players, in terms of defense, rebounding, being able to play off closeouts, understanding how to screen to get their teammates advantages, that's been a huge part of why they're so valuable to winning, along with the shooting piece.”