News, notes and observations from NBA Finals media day on Tuesday in San Antonio. Game 1 between the Spurs and Knicks is 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday. All eyes on Mitch Mitchell Robinson was noticeably cast-free when he made his way through security at Frost Bank Arena on Tuesday afternoon. Robinson had surgery last week to repair a hand injury—initial reporting indicated it was a broken right pinky finger while on Tuesday it was officially listed as a fractured fifth metacarpal. Knicks coach Mike Brown deflected questions about Robinson’s injury. New York did not make Robinson available to the media. Robinson wore a wrap around his right hand during the portion of practice the media was allowed to attend. This is potentially a significant injury for the Knicks. Robinson is averaging just 14.2 minutes per game in the playoffs. But those minutes have been impactful: He’s averaging 5.3 points and 5.5 rebounds while shooting 73.7% from the floor. New York is expected to be physical with Victor Wembanyama, taking a page out of the Oklahoma City playbook. Robinson is the Knicks’ most physical interior defender. His absence would be a significant loss. Knicks center Mitchell Robinson had surgery to repair a hand injury ahead of the NBA Finals. | Brad Penner-Imagn ImagesIs Wemby worried? In an otherwise boilerplate 10-minute gaggle with reporters on Tuesday, Wembanyama hinted at some concern over San Antonio’s ability to put the win over Oklahoma City behind them. “Coming back down from this is a challenge,” Wembanyama admitted. “It’s not done yet. We still need to really come back down to earth and realize we haven’t done the hardest [part] yet. The job isn’t done at all. So we still got about, I don’t know, what time is it, like 30-plus hours to re-center.”Hmm. Wemby is right—as significant as the Spurs’ win was over the Thunder, the team needs to put it behind them. The Knicks are rested (eight days off since dispatching Cleveland in the conference finals) and humming (10 wins in a row). After looking rusty for most of Game 1 of the conference finals, New York adjusted its schedule, incorporating some player suggestions, per Karl-Anthony Towns, that they believe will mitigate the lengthy layoff. San Antonio needs to be ready for it.Jordan Clarkson’s homecomingClarkson was 6 years old when his father moved his family to San Antonio. Naturally, he grew up a Spurs fan. His stepmother, Janie, worked at the Westin overlooking the Riverwalk. Clarkson recalled watching several Spurs championship celebrations from a hotel window. His father, Mike, did car detail work for many of the players. Clarkson played his high school ball at Wagner. The energy in San Antonio this week is a familiar one. “Being able to take pictures and run up on players for autographs, I was definitely that kid,” said Clarkson. “Being around to see this energy and see how alive the city comes when the Spurs are in the Finals and winning championships. It’s a great experience.”The Spurs and Knicks will include a battle between two recent Sixth Man of the Year winners. Clarkson claimed the award in 2020–21, with the Jazz. Keldon Johnson won it this season. Johnson called Clarkson “an amazing player” and “a spark on whatever team he has been on.” Knicks guard Jordan Clarkson grew up a Spurs fan and now faces that team in the Finals. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn ImagesWill Knicks fans swarm Frost Bank?Once again, an NBA franchise is doing whatever it can to keep thousands of blue-clad fans from gobbling up Finals tickets. The Spurs have reportedly been monitoring resale activity and threatening to revoke season tickets of fans who try to offload them on the secondary market. Knicks fans trying to buy tickets on Ticketmaster have been getting met with a message stating that sales “will be restricted to customers residing within a 150-mile radius of Frost Bank Center,” noting that orders coming from outside that radius will be canceled. Still, it’s unlikely Knicks fans will be deterred. Several who have messaged me said they plan to fly down to San Antonio on Wednesday and find their way in. The get-in price for Game 1 has plummeted to under $700, per ticketdata.com, a bargain compared to the $4,216 it will cost a fan for a seat for Game 3 at Madison Square Garden. The Spurs can throw up as many roadblocks as they want. New York fans find a way.More NBA From Sports IllustratedListen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow