The Best And The Worst Of The Spurs’ Preseason So Far

Who or what has impressed you the most during the Spurs’ preseason so far?

Marilyn Dubinski: I was just hitting publish on an article about Tarris Reed’s impressive play when these questions came out, so I’ll change things up and go with Carter Bryant. He looks so much calmer and more comfortable, isn’t lost on defense, is contesting well without as much fouling, and while 6-12 from three while missing a game (as of Thursday) is not a huge sample size, his willingness to let it fly and lack of hesitation is a huge improvement over last season.

Mark Barrington: I don’t know if you can learn much from preseason, especially since the Spurs haven’t let their starters play much, and they have looked pretty rusty for much of the time they’ve been on court. The biggest surprise for me has been Tarris Reed. I figured he’d be in the Spurs’ plans this season, but he’s making a case for being in the rotation on opening day. He’s the most NBA-ready rookie I’ve seen on the Spurs since … maybe Tim Duncan? There have been plenty of really good players that have started their careers in the Silver and Black uniform, but most of them weren’t quite fully developed when they arrived. I’m excluding Victor Wembanyama from this assessment, because his talent level defies analysis.

Devon Birdsong: I won’t say that I’m surprised by how good Carter Bryant looks, after he held his own in the postseason as a rookie who had uneven regular season minutes, but he has looked every bit the 3-and-D forward of the future that the Spurs will need him to be. It’s easier to see with Harrison Barnes, but Tobias Harris is also into the back nine of his career, and age is, as always, undefeated. I loved seeing the Spurs inject youth into their big man rotation in the draft, but forward is such a critical position in this era of the NBA, and the Spurs proving they can still find contributors at that part of the draft (14th) and bolster the roster with young talent bodes well for a club with impending depth departures and cap gymnastics in their future. 

Jeje Gomez: The storyline I was the most excited to follow heading into preseason was the battle for minutes at the forward spots, and especially how Carter Bryant looked. So far, Bryant has impressed. There are no signs of a major leap that foreshadows stardom, but that wasn’t really what anyone was looking for. The main things he needed to show were the ability to play under control and to show not as much fear of shooting, and so far, he’s done well in both areas. Teams still leave him open often, but that’s just going to happen until he develops consistency as a marksman. I’m not sure if he’ll start the season getting major minutes, but he has looked like a genuine option.

Have you seen anything so far that has you worried about the Spurs heading into the regular season?

Dubinski: This is where you really can’t overreact to the preseason.  It was easy to half-joke about the Spurs blowing yet another double-digit lead to open the preseason considering how the Finals went, but we’ll worry about that if it continues to be an issue in the regular season.  I was also (jokingly) working to not let my Battered Aggie Syndrome from the way Texas A&M’s football season is going sneak over to the NBA side – from playoff team to this?! You better not do this to me too, Spurs! – but I know they’re just shaking off the rust, and they appeared to start finding their rhythm again by the home game against the Suns (albeit with none of Phoenix’s starters playing, but when talking about rhythm, opponent doesn’t matter).  I trust they’ll be in form by the regular season opener.

Barrington: I’m not worried! Yes, the level of play has been haphazard and inconsistent in preseason, which is basically meaningless. This team went to the Finals last year, and they might have a bit of a slow start to the regular season after a short off-season, but no team has ever won a championship before the All-Star Break*. [Except for the Knicks, who won the NBA Cup and then won the Larry O’Brien trophy, becoming the first team ever to win both in the same season.] This team is supremely talented, and Reed and Quaintance address the major weaknesses in the roster. Will this come together again in Mitch Johnson’s second full year as a head coach in the NBA? I think a lot of that depends on how well Billy Donovan can implement his system in his first year on the staff. I have a good feeling about that.

Birdsong: I still have questions about that three-guard lineup (four, if you count Wemby) they’ve been trotting out, especially on the defensive end. Wemby’s going to be able to smother a lot, but teams with quality stretch bigs have figured out that they can scheme him to the perimeter. Now, that’s not a lot of teams, thankfully, but Spurs brass can’t just depend on Wemby to bail schemes out defensively. I need to see how that (and other) lineups/schemes fare in the regular season, but that’s about as nitty a pick as I can find for now. Preseason disclaimers aside, the team looks really locked in. We’ll know exactly how locked in (and schematically sound) they are soon enough. 

Gomez: Preseason can be a good gauge of how teams with a lot of roster turnover are gelling, but that’s not the Spurs, especially after Harris’ injury, so there’s not much to worry about. I’ll admit that since we know how they look when they are trying, I haven’t been watching the games as attentively as I do when they count, but I have noticed some up-and-down moments that are expected of a team that went so far in the playoffs and probably isn’t taking these games as seriously. The three-guard starting lineup is new, but it seems like it’s here to stay, so I’ll worry (or get excited) about it around 15 into the regular season, when we’ll have a better understanding of its strengths and weaknesses.

Do you think preseason performances will change the projected rotation or result in a signing using the last roster spot?

Dubinski: I don’t think there will be another signing right away considering they have to wait a bit to stay under the cap, but of all the players who weren’t rotation players last season, Reed is the one who will make Mitch Johnson have to start thinking. I don’t think he’ll be in the main rotation right away, but it should mean a shorter leash for Kornet, and Johnson shouldn’t hesitate to throw Reed out there against bigger centers that give Kornet trouble.

Barrington: As I mentioned above, I believe that Tarris Reed has earned himself a spot in the regular rotation. Other than that, nobody has really distinguished themselves. I feel bad for David Jones-Garcia, who has played poorly in preseason. If he sticks as a two-way player, hopefully he can pick up his game during the season and earn more playing time. 

The Spurs aren’t going to fill that last spot with anyone on the preseason roster, but there’s always the chance that they’ll pick up a player that gets waived by another team. I feel like it’s most likely that they keep that spot open until the trading deadline so they can pick up a player for the playoff run if someone good becomes available.

Birdsong: Maybe, but outside of Reed (who has all but locked down the role of 3rd big man), I don’t see much happening that isn’t due to injury. It’s a long season, so I fully expect there to be games where players like Reed and Bryant get a lot of run, but that extra slot feels like flexibility insurance. Whether for trade purposes or waiver pickups, who knows? I’m not sure it’ll matter much, because this team is so insanely deep that it would take a medieval plague for the Spurs to get desperate. *knocks on wood* Still, it’s fun to hypothesize. I choose to believe that they’ll hold it open in case Timmy decides to fundamentally flex on another generation, five minutes or so per game, just for fun.  

Gomez: I don’t see many changes to the rotation. I really doubt a couple of preseason performances would change the plan to go with the three-guard starting lineup; the battle at forward is intriguing, but no one has played so well as to separate themselves from the pack; Reed is a beast, but I doubt he’ll beat out Kornet for backup center, at least to start.

The one spot in which I can see a change is with the third two-way spot. The Spurs have gotten a really good look at David Jones-Garcia, and if they feel like they need more depth at a different spot or someone intriguing is available, I could see a world in which they give someone else a shot. But even that would surprise me. San Antonio seems ready for the season.