Momento do momento: San Antonio precisa de uma magia imperdível para ganhar a divisão das finais

One of the most overused terms in professional sports is “must-win.”

I can’t even count how many times I’ve sat in a bar or barbershop and argued with people about a must-win Major League Baseball game before the calendar flipped to September, or a gotta-have-it NFL game in November.   

Pain.

Must-win games in true form, though, are elite. And it sure feels like Wednesday night’s NBA Finals game between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs fits the bill.

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The Knicks currently lead the best-of-seven series 2-1, but a second straight home loss would swing things back to San Antonio in a 2-2 banana split. If the Knicks protect home court, they’ll force the Spurs to win Games 5, 6 and 7 to hoist a trophy.

New York’s star guard Jalen Brunson is clearly playing through pain and his inefficiency is eye-opening. Sure, he scored 30, 20 and 32 points in the first three Finals games, but whew, is he logging hard time. 

Brunson is constantly hitting the deck, and it’s impossible not to notice his 30-for-81 (37%) shooting, 10 percentage points lower than his season average.

If Brunson can’t finish strong, the Knicks are in trouble.

So, are they?

“No,” Westgate SuperBook vice president of risk management Jeff Sherman told me from Las Vegas. “The Knicks have shown they’re more than capable of winning in San Antonio if need be,” he continued. “Karl-Anthony Towns needs to be more assertive than last game and their offense will look like it did the previous dozen games or so.”

The big-man battle between Wemby and KAT could determine the NBA Finals (Getty Images).

Across town, VSIN talk show host and basketball aficionado Jonathan Von Tobel has concerns.

“Obviously, the Knicks can still win the series, but I’m nervous about their chances for sure,” Von Tobel said.

“The Spurs had success attacking Brunson, and he can’t defend. Officials are starting to make the Knicks pay for how physical they’ve played Wemby, too. Mike Brown can’t keep playing [Jose] Alvarado e [Jordan] Clarkson do jeito que ele fez. Mas Towns ainda pode vencer o confronto com Wemby e OG [Anunoby] mata incompatibilidades.

“Acho que teremos um Jogo 7.”

Quanto ao Jogo 4, os oddsmakers de Vegas estão dizendo para jogar uma moeda. Os Knicks abriram como favoritos de 1,5 ponto e a linha não mudou muito. A maioria das casas de apostas esportivas está negociando New York -2, o que obviamente ainda dá poder a San Antonio em uma quadra neutra.

E sejamos realistas, o tribunal de origem não importou muito.

Os Spurs são um time muito jovem, mas cara, eles são muito perigosos na sua melhor defesa. É difícil para mim não olhar para eles com aquele pterodáctilo francês de 2,10 metros vagando pela quadra com sua envergadura de 2,5 metros.

Algumas lojas no mercado têm San Antonio +115 na linha de dinheiro e essa é a minha jogada favorita para quarta-feira à noite. Pensei que os Spurs voltariam e venceriam as finais com +155 também, mas preferiria lançar os dados em um evento.

Conte comigo para aquela banana split.