The Spurs’ new starting group is finally taking shape, and the twist came almost immediately.
Mitch Johnson told reporters he planned to open with Dylan Harper, De'Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Devin Vassell and Victor Wembanyama. Then Fox showed up at the arena sore after Thursday morning’s practice and will sit out tonight, with Julian Champagnie stepping into the lineup in his place.
For now, that leaves last year’s starting power forward headed to the bench once Fox is back. It’s not exactly the setup most people expected, but from a pure watchability standpoint, it’s hard to argue with the direction San Antonio is headed. This is the kind of lineup that should have the entire NBA paying attention.
Around the league, there are plenty of teams worth checking in on. The new-look 76ers with LeBron James and Jaylen Brown in uniform, the up-and-coming Utah squad, and the Timberwolves with LaMelo Ball at the helm all fit that bill. Still, San Antonio belongs in that conversation too, and for a lot of people, it should be near the top of it.
The biggest reason is simple: Spurs fans have been waiting for Dylan Harper. The calls to unleash D.
Harp have been loud, and now the ex-Rutgers standout gets his shot to start alongside Wembanyama and Castle. Those three feel like the backbone of the franchise’s future, and the more they share the floor, the more valuable every minute becomes.
That chemistry won’t appear out of nowhere. It gets built through reps, through shared wins and losses, and through learning how to operate as one unit. This group already has the ingredients, though: defense, scoring and selflessness.
The first thing that jumps out is the athleticism. This is a lineup built to fly.
Everyone on the floor except De'Aaron Fox can rise for a highlight finish on the move, and Fox is no slouch there either. With a full offseason of training behind him, his first step should still be a problem.
At full speed, the 2x All-Star remains one of the league’s most dangerous scorers, which makes San Antonio’s transition game look like it could be a real weapon.
That pace will only work if the defense fuels it. The Spurs will need steals, blocks and constant pressure to create those run-out chances. They’ve got the length to bother ball-handlers, clog passing lanes and make life miserable when they’re locked in.
Spacing is the other big piece. If the shots don’t fall early, defenses will pack the paint and force this group to prove it can punish them from outside.
That’s probably what the start of the season will look like until the “3-headed monster” makes opponents respect the jumper. Once that happens, the floor opens up fast.
If this lineup stays together, rebounding will matter too. Bigger teams will test them, so gang-rebounding becomes a necessity.
This is a young group, which means the standard has to be energy and physicality every night. Flying around on defense is not optional.
Mitch Johnson has repeatedly pushed his team to play faster. With this lineup, that should be exactly what happens.
When the Spurs get stops, they can run. When they run, they get easier baskets.
And when they score, they can set their defense again. That cycle is where this group can start to look dangerous.
In Other News...
JJ Redick Just Gave The Spurs A Contender Reality Check
The Spurs have spent the early part of the season getting folded into the leagues bigger contender conversation, a sign of how quickly the expectations have climbed around San Antonio. With Victor Wembanyama front and center and Dylan Harper and Devin Vassell also part of the broader push, the Spurs are no longer being treated like a team simply building for later. They are being discussed in the same breath as clubs trying to turn talent into something much more immediate.
JJ Redick, though, is making it clear the Lakers are not spending much time worrying about that outside chatter. Los Angeles is focused on its own path, with roster upgrades built around Luka Doncic on offense and Walker Kessler added to help with rebounding and defense. For San Antonio, the bigger takeaway is not what Redick said about the Spurs directly, but how quickly their name now comes up in the same title hopeful discussions as Oklahoma City and New York. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Still Have One Rival They Havent Caught Yet
For a franchise that has spent decades collecting series wins and long-term advantages, the Lakers remain the one regular-season opponent San Antonio still has not fully overtaken. The Spurs history with Los Angeles has included plenty of memorable victories along the way, but the ledger still tilts slightly the other way, a reminder of how often these two teams have crossed paths in meaningful stretches.
This season offers San Antonio another chance to chip away at that gap, with three meetings left on the schedule against a Lakers roster that looks different than the one fans have grown used to seeing. The path is simple but demanding: the Spurs would need to take every one of those games to move ahead in the all-time series, which gives the remaining matchups a little extra weight beyond the usual Western Conference calendar dates. [Read more 🡒]
Spurs Need More From Carter Bryant At A Crucial Early Moment
Tobias Harris being sidelined with a left calf strain has opened a familiar early-season question for the Spurs: who picks up the extra offensive load while one of the rotation pieces is unavailable. In that space, second-year forward Carter Bryant becomes a name worth watching, especially for a team that already liked what it saw from him on the defensive end as a rookie.
What the Spurs want now is a more assertive version of Bryant on offense, one who plays with confidence and makes quicker decisions when the ball finds him. The tools are there, and the defensive foundation gives San Antonio reason to keep leaning in, but this is also the sort of stretch when a young player can either start building trust or drift back into a supporting role. [Read more 🡒]