Kentucky Wildcats are the X-Factors in the NBA Finals

Jay Wright and the Nova Knicks will soak up plenty of the spotlight as Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart try to bring a Larry O’Brien Trophy to New York City. When the dust settles on the NBA Finals, the basketball world could be talking about a few former Kentucky Wildcats.

Victor Wembanyama is unlike anything basketball has ever seen. How do you challenge a guy who is taller than everyone who can play from pretty much any spot on the floor? The same question could be asked of Karl-Anthony Towns.

Nobody can create an apples-to-apples comparison to Wemby, but Towns is a 7-footer who can play the stretch-five. He shot 54.3% from three in the Eastern Conference finals and dished out 7.5 assists per game in the semifinals against the 76ers. He can challenge Wemby and the Spurs in a way that Chet Holmgren and Alex Caruso could not. There’s just one issue: stupid fouls.

“If he can not get in foul trouble, and if he can stretch out the defense and make like five threes in game one and they steal it. He’s getting rebounds, and he’s threatening, the Knicks are going to win this series,” The Ringer’s Kirk Goldsberry told Pardon My Take. “If KAT has the series of his life and is not getting in foul trouble, that’s going to be really, really important.”

Fox Protects the Ball

Goldsberry, an analytical junkie, believes KAT can be the ultimate X factor for the Knicks. As for the Spurs, that honor belongs to De’Aaron Fox. As exciting as it is to watch Stephen Castle ferociously attack the rim, his lack of control is costly. When Fox missed the first two games of the previous series, Castle combined to commit 20 turnovers.

“De’Aaron Fox is getting better and stronger coming off this injury with his ankle. He looked really good in game seven, had a three in the fourth quarter where he was really bouncy for the first time all series, and it was a huge shot,” said Goldsberry.

“If he’s able to bring that kind of transition competence and energy with those point guard skills, and he’s scoring 20 points, having seven assists; if he has the series of his life, then I think the Spurs are even better than they were against OKC.”

Buzz for this NBA Finals is palpable. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Fox can bring a title back to his home state. Towns might as well be a New York City native. Who will rise to the occasion? If you think either could be the defining player of the NBA Finals, you can make some extra money. On BetMGM, Towns is +2000, and Fox is +10,000 to win Finals MVP.

Pardon My Take on KSR

Before Pardon My Take became the biggest sports podcast in the world, they filled in for Matt Jones during a summer edition of Kentucky Sports Radio. It has become an annual tradition. Big Cat and PFT Commenter are returning to the KSR airwaves on June 16.