Injury-free Spurs now need to figure out who starts and who sits
11/30/2024 05:37 PM
The Spurs survived injuries to Sochan and Vassell but with the two penciled-in starters back, their starting lineup and rotation will likely change.
Devin Vassell is back and Jeremy Sochan should return soon. Should the coaching staff insert them into the starting lineup? And if so, who should move to the bench?
Marilyn Dubinski: It's more complicated than anticipated because the current starting lineup with Julian Champagnie and Stephon Castle has been doing well, so it's hard to consider breaking up something that's working. That being said, Vassell in particular is too good to keep coming off the bench, and I imagine the Spurs feel the same about Sochan. At the same time, the bench can use all the help it can get since it is too dependent on a big scoring night from Keldon Johnson to be productive. Vassell and Sochan can help with that, but I imagine the Spurs are hoping Castle and Champagnie can too. (Another potential wildcard move would be to move Harrison Barnes to the bench, but again, has he played too well?)
Mark Barrington: I think the Spurs should stick with bringing the returning players off the bench until they are ready to play normal starter minutes. I think that Champagnie will be terrific against bench players once Devin is able to start. They don't play the same position nominally, but they are both wings and are capable of spelling each other. I think working Jeremy into the opening lineup is going to be tougher since Castle has been so good as a starter, but I think the best move will be to let Stephon play big minutes off the bench at both guard positions once everyone is healthy. I think that once Chris Paul moves on, Castle will become a fixture in the starting lineup.
Jesus Gomez: I'd keep the same starting lineup, but it's probably impossible to do it. The young players don't seem to have huge egos but coming into the season as starters and losing their spot because of injury would probably hurt Vassell and especially Sochan, who was putting up big numbers earlier in the year. Luckily, the Spurs have made it common practice to have players who are coming back from injury get their rhythm back by coming off the bench, so both the coaching staff and Vassell and Sochan will get a look at how the team looks with the current starting lineup and a second unit featuring them. If the results are good, it would be easier to keep Castle and Champagnie where they are.
Devon Birdsong: I imagine the longer a starting unit excels together, the less you want to tamper with it as a coach. So, if Mitch and Co. are planning on making changes to the starting unit, they better do it soon. Julian Champagnie is the obvious choice with Devin Vassell back and healthy (especially since the starting unit had some real spacing issues when Wemby and Sochan played together), but this is the part where balancing egos and playing time becomes an important part of being a coach. So long as Mitch is being given a certain degree of freedom (and he may not be), we're probably going to learn a lot about how he manages personalities when Vassell and Sochan are both back. Out of those two, I think Sochan is the bench choice for now with his ability to make that unit's passing and defense better, both of which are a need.
Deep bench players like Blake Wesley, Sandro Mamukelshvili and Charles Bassey have had their moments amid all their injuries. Do you think any of them have done enough to stay in the rotation with the team at full strength?
Dubinski: I will always be a fan of Mamu getting at least some minutes each game, especially alongside Victor Wembanyama. He's a player with perhaps the most potential to provide a spark, and he always feels missed when he doesn't play. I also wouldn't mind seeing Bassey get more of Zach Collins' minutes either when the match-up calls for it or if Collins is just having an off night. The Spurs are deep enough to experiment or make adjustments when needed, so they shouldn't get too married to one rotation.
Barrington: In an 82-game season, you really need everyone on the roster to be able to put in minutes, unless you want to wear down your best players in a Tom Thibodeau-like system. I don't think any of those players have earned crunch time minutes in big games, but they've done enough to get a lot of run in situations where you want to rest starters, like the second game of back-to-backs. Also, there are certain situations where you need a guy like Sandro to hit some shots, and I don't mind giving him an opportunity to affect games in the right situations. I'm intrigued by Blake Wesley's development, and I would like to see Coach Johnson continue to put him in game situations to learn how to play against NBA competition. Depending on how he handles those moments, he might earn a bigger role.
Gomez: If you consider that the Spurs can go 10 deep with the current starting lineup plus Tre Jones, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, Keldon Johnson and Zach Collins, it's hard to find minutes for anyone else. I think Collins' minutes shouldn't be guaranteed at this point, so Bassey could sneak into the rotation if he makes the most of the opportunities he gets, but it's hard to make the case for the others. Wesley and Mamu have been good at times, but the team just has too much depth for them to get consistent playing time.
Birdsong: I think it might be ideal to split Collins' and Bassey's minutes, or at least change it around based on the match-up, but Bassey hasn't really been getting much run since his 6 block performance, which is a little surprising. If Bassey were a more prodigious rebounder I think he'd be seeing more playing time, since the Spurs tend to get killed on the glass when going single-big. They're solidly in the middle of the pack for rebound percentage, but they're slowly dropping the longer Sochan is out. And with Sochan coming back, I really can't see anyone breaking through after that, barring more injuries.
Has any Spur disappointed you with their play so far this season?
Dubinski: Everyone has had their moments, good and bad, but I'll go with Malaki Branham. He came into this season with perhaps both the most to prove and lose, and he has not taken advantage of his opportunities. The Spurs could really use his scoring ability off the bench, but lately they've been going with Wesley's much more raw game because at least he brings the effort and hustle. Honestly, I remain surprised that the Spurs picked up both of their fourth-year team options.
Barrington: Everybody likes to bag on Zach Collins, but it's hard to criticize a guy who plays that hard all of the time. He's not a good defender, and to make it worse, he's a bit too eager to take a foul when he gets beat. I'm rooting for him to succeed, but he's definitely one of the weaker spots on the roster, which I wouldn't have said last year. It just goes to show how much the Spurs have improved that a player who is just about average is probably one of the worst in the rotation. I'm not convinced that Bassey is an improvement, because Zach has a lot of offensive skills, both shooting and passing, that Bassey doesn't have yet. So, I can't say that I'm really that disappointed with Zach, but I really was hoping for him to be better this year after returning from injury, but maybe this really is his final form.
Gomez: As Mark says, Zach Collins' numbers are not terrible. In fact, they are actually solid. He plays hard, too. But his impact on the team has not been positive. He can't defend without fouling and his rim protection is non-existent, with opponents relentlessly scoring inside when he's on the floor and shooting close to 60 percent when he's the closest defender at the rim. Collins' limitations as a defender were well-known even from his time in Portland and he normally does enough on offense to at least mitigate his struggles on that end. He also only plays 15 minutes a game. If the Spurs' season doesn't go well, he won't be the main reason why. But it's hard to make a case for him as a long-term piece, which is not great considering the investment San Antonio made in his recovery.
Birdsong: Devin Vassell is still rounding into form, so I'm loathe to point to him right now. However, I'm really looking for him to improve defensively this season. Coming into the NBA he had a reputation for good defensive play, but he's really been up-and-down in that area since his debut. On recent Spurs teams, that's something that really didn't stick out, but San Antonio's improvements on that end will make this something that eventually draws attention from Spurs fans. He's only played 5 games so far, but he's bottom of the team for Net Rating so far (by a lot), and that could be a big problem if it holds up. As for players like Collins and Branham, I can't say I'm disappointed because my hopes really weren't that lofty for them in the first place.
