San Antonio didn’t really hand opening-night blame to Luke Kornet, but the numbers left him with a job to answer for anyway.
The headlines after the Spurs’ 116-104 loss to Oklahoma City went elsewhere. Victor Wembanyama missing 12 of his 13 shots drew the biggest spotlight, while the three-guard lineup and Mitch Johnson soaked up most of the rest. Still, Kornet’s line was hard to ignore: minus-10 in just under 13 minutes, two made baskets, and one rebound.
Johnson has stayed steady in how he’s talked about the loss, and he pushed that point again Thursday. “I think everybody struggled pretty equally,” he said after the game, and he added that the group did not play well together. The Spurs weren’t about to hang a 12-point defeat on 12 minutes from a backup center.
But the larger issue has hung around for a while. Figuring out who can hold up next to Wembanyama has been a question since his rookie season, and it still hasn’t gone away in year 4.
Kornet’s opening-night stint looked a lot like the kind of rough postseason stretches that can shrink a player’s role fast. He logged 12:37 against Oklahoma City, the same kind of short leash he saw in last season’s playoff run, when he averaged 12.9 minutes a night and was unplayable in several games.
That’s a sharp drop from what he gave San Antonio in the regular season. Last year, the Texas-born reinforcement averaged 21 minutes, 6.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while shooting 64.3% from the field.
It wasn’t flashy, but it was dependable. The Spurs had real use for that.
On Tuesday, though, he couldn’t find it. One rebound from a 7-foot-1 center stands out on its own, and it looks even worse when eight of his 12 minutes came in the first half.
He played only 58 seconds in the third quarter, the same period when San Antonio outscored Oklahoma City 36-28 to claw back into the game. When the Spurs needed a push, Kornet wasn’t part of it.
Now comes Houston, and that’s where the spotlight shifts.
The Rockets opened with a 128-110 win over Dallas by doing what they tend to do when healthy: playing physically and hammering the glass. They grabbed 17 offensive rebounds, while Dallas managed nine.
Alperen Sengun finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds, including five offensive boards. Amen Thompson had six rebounds of his own.
Steven Adams, Houston’s best offensive rebounder, did not play, though the Rockets are hoping he makes his debut against the Spurs.
That puts Kornet on the clock. If Adams plays or not, San Antonio needs its backup center to bring real resistance in the paint and help keep Houston off the offensive glass. Kornet averaged 2.7 offensive rebounds per game last season, and that kind of work matters now on both ends: extra possessions for the Spurs, fewer second chances for the opponent.
If he can’t give them that, Tarris Reed Jr. is sitting right there, and Spurs fans are going to want a look. That doesn’t mean Johnson has to overreact to one bad night.
Kornet earned a longer leash than that last season. But the Spurs aren’t putting this thing together to beat the Hornets.
OKC, Houston, Denver, and the rest of that tier are the teams blocking the Silver and Black from finishing the Race for Seis. Those are the games where a backup center grabbing one rebound in 12 minutes turns into a real problem.
Kornet gets a chance to fix it tonight in the Moody Center, against another opponent that will test the exact part of his game the Spurs brought him in to handle. And if he helps swing it against the Rockets, that’s the quickest way back into good standing with Spurs Nation.
In Other News...
Spurs First Win May Have Changed Wemby's Backup Picture
The Spurs first win of the season came with a little more than relief, because it also gave the staff a fresh look at who might soak up minutes behind Victor Wembanyama. In the 122-106 victory over Dallas, Wembanyama did most of the heavy lifting with 23 points, seven rebounds and five steals, attacking the paint with the kind of force San Antonio has wanted to see more often.
Lost in the final score was the debut of Tarris Reed, who got into the game for six minutes and managed two points and three rebounds. It was a small sample, but the opportunity itself mattered, especially for a team still sorting out the center rotation around Wembanyama and trying to find a reliable backup option who can hold the fort when he sits. [Read more 🡒]
Stephon Castle May Have Given Spurs Lineup Exactly What It Needed
The Spurs finally got into the win column with a 122-106 result over the Mavericks, and Stephon Castle was a big reason the night looked so much smoother. He scored 19 points, knocked down three triples and handed out eight assists, a mix of shot-making and playmaking that gave San Antonio a more dynamic feel on offense.
Castles versatility stood out because it helped the Spurs keep Dallas from settling in defensively and gave the group a cleaner rhythm throughout the game. For a team still sorting out its best combinations early in the season, that kind of two-way offensive blend can be the difference between looking stuck and looking like a lineup worth sticking with. [Read more 🡒]
Tarris Reed Jr. May Force His Way Into Spurs Minutes Fast
Tarris Reed Jr. arrived in San Antonio with a clear purpose, and the preseason only sharpened that idea. The rookie big man averaged 9.2 rebounds in 17 minutes per game, giving the Spurs an early look at the kind of interior presence they were targeting when they brought him in on draft night to help fill the need for a third center.
What makes Reed interesting is how quickly he could become more than an insurance option. His value starts on the glass, especially offensively, where his energy and positioning can swing possessions, and his role could expand depending on the health of the other centers ahead of him. For a Spurs team still sorting out its frontcourt depth, Reed has already done enough to make himself hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]