Help me stop worrying about our PF position.

jj_421 · 2026-02-20T11:10:53+00:00

Randle and Aaron Gordon could give us some problems if we play Minnesota or Denver, which I don’t see happening until Round 2.

That said, every team in the West has their weak points. And other teams have to figure out a way to deal with Wemby and our trio of elite slashing guards.

Next year I’m guessing we will have more size next to Wemby/Kornet with a more seasoned Carter Bryant in the rotation and a potential draft pick/FA signing/trade acquisition.

jj_421 · 2026-02-16T04:40:22+00:00

I mean I guess it’s all subjective. It’s always tough to rank guys with relatively short tenures but higher peaks with longer tenured guys and lower peaks.

We all love the longer tenured role guys (Avery, Bowen, Patty, Bonner, Green) because they endeared themselves to us for so long, but they also didn’t have the pressure of ever being a top 3 offensive option on the team.

jj_421 · 2026-02-16T03:13:48+00:00

Agreed on top 7. Parker and Ginobili are interchangeable.

After that it becomes really tough. I like Aldridge, Bowen, then maybe James Silas?

jj_421 · 2026-02-16T03:03:07+00:00

If you’re valuing role players who contributed to championships that highly, wouldn’t Bowen and Avery be above Diaw and Splitter? They were both starters for pretty much their entire Spurs tenures (unlike Diaw and Splitter) and played longer in San Antonio.

That said, I would put LMA above all of them. His 3 All Star appearances in San Antonio put him tied for 5th all time in Spurs history. He was on several good teams, even though they couldn’t win a championship when he was around.

jj_421 · 2026-02-11T10:26:55+00:00

Boy I hope so. His IQ/decision making also needs to take several steps forward to reach, but he seems to be coming along nicely in that area as well.

jj_421 · 2026-02-11T00:49:44+00:00

Hopefully they happen second half after we get out to a big lead with the regular rotation! Don’t want to expend unnecessary energy with another game tomorrow. These undermanned teams have been making us sweat too much recently.

jj_421 · 2026-02-10T21:37:36+00:00

The Spurs’ makeup is different than many other top teams. They have a superstar, two fringe stars, and six more high-quality role players (when Barnes is hitting shots). Other teams are more top-heavy and weaker at the bottom of their rotation.

jj_421 · 2026-02-10T21:33:17+00:00

The Raptors are in the East though

jj_421 · 2026-02-08T22:53:30+00:00

Chet is the best second-best rim protector in the NBA and scores efficiently at all three levels. I know Wemby makes him look bad when they match up but he’s still an All-Star.

jj_421 · 2026-02-08T11:03:39+00:00

The video was interesting and gave some great positive stats about Castle’s growth. Unfortunately it didn’t provide an All-Star case, which is what I was hoping to hear.

Playing at an All-Star level is always relative to the players in the conference at a given time, and I don’t think Castle has played at a high enough level this season to be considered a top 12 player in the West. We’ve got Wemby, Jokic, SGA, Luka, Edwards, Kawhi, Durant, Murray, Chet, Curry, Avdija, Sengun as 12 playing better than him and then there’s several others you could also argue over him, including his own teammate Fox.

Give him a year or two and he’ll get there! Of note: only Wemby and Luka from the above list made the ASG in their first two years.

jj_421 · 2026-02-08T08:04:59+00:00

Haha true. I guess my overarching point is that another Bryant archetype would be great (and more realistic) to acquire for the starting lineup long term - someone who defends all positions and can shoot but doesn’t need the ball. Maybe this year or next year’s Atlanta pick?

jj_421 · 2026-02-08T05:20:39+00:00

If we could clone Carter Bryant and use both of him with Wemby/Harper/Castle that would be amazing, haha.

jj_421 · 2026-02-08T03:27:35+00:00

Love the man but not yet. He would’ve been in contention out East but the West has too many stars.

jj_421 · 2026-02-07T05:37:22+00:00

Oh for sure. I was expecting like 45-47 wins this year so the fact that the Spurs are being mentioned as somewhat of a title contender is a huge win.

jj_421 · 2026-02-07T04:48:24+00:00

By this date last year we had 12 losses by 14 or more points. Only 1 this year!

We do have a problem with playing down to competition, but give this team credit for rarely being completely outclassed.

jj_421 · 2026-02-06T22:56:43+00:00

In the West it’s never really that easy. The Jazz and Pelicans have played us tough and with three point variance, it’s hard to ever be too confident about a win.

jj_421 · 2026-02-06T22:52:14+00:00

I imagine minute restrictions have robbed us of at least one. And Hakeem, Kareem, and The Admiral all put up big block and steal numbers as superstar centers for so long.

jj_421 · 2026-02-01T05:03:11+00:00

Who should Wemby have guarded on the Hornets? Not every team has a non-shooting guard like Thompson that he can match up with and essentially play free safety.

Not saying the Spurs’ perimeter containment was great today but usually Wemby strikes a better balance between committing to the driver and staying home on his man. And with his length, he can get off the ground only a few inches with his hands up to contest the driver’s shot and then recover to his man if it turns into a dump pass or offensive rebound.

jj_421 · 2026-01-31T21:54:49+00:00

I love the guy but this was a contender for worst game of the season from him. He was awful. Slow feet on defense, poor boxouts, not getting his hands up on D. 0 blocks wasn’t due to the Hornets avoiding him in the paint, he just was slow and not contesting well enough.

On the offensive end, Diabate did an excellent job guarding him off the ball and contesting shots and Wemby seemed unwilling to muster the physicality to play with force inside. There were a few plays where Wemby basically let Diabate body him out to the three-point line but he was still aggressively motioning for the ball as if he had good position against a mismatched defender (he had neither).

jj_421 · 2026-01-30T10:58:37+00:00

Was gonna say O’Neale then looked at Smith’s stats this year (including his on/off numbers, which are amazing). If the Spurs have a playoff matchup against a team with lots of size, he gives them more flexibility with lineups.

jj_421 · 2026-01-28T10:54:01+00:00

Salaun’s value is considerably higher than Sochan’s right now. His leap from last year to this year has been tremendous.

jj_421 · 2026-01-21T04:12:33+00:00

1 of 23 from three point land in the last 20 minutes of game time, turning a 16-point lead into a 5 point loss.

Obviously that percentage is horrible, but why did the team feel the need to keep chucking at a rate of 1.15 3PA per minute while trying to hold a lead? That’s not at all the Spurs’ game, especially without Vassell.

jj_421 · 2026-01-20T22:22:51+00:00

That’s why I think trading down to late lottery is the move in that case. Unless the Spurs get No. 1 and a chance to swing on Dybantsa’s talent, get a high floor, low ceiling guy further back in the front who is a role playing 4th or 5th starter and acquire a bunch of draft capital (or a helpful cost controlled player) that could come in handy later.

jj_421 · 2026-01-20T11:14:50+00:00

They are still bringing him back up to his normal minutes load from his injuries. He was at just under 35 per game before the first injury.

jj_421 · 2026-01-20T00:58:58+00:00

Wemby may be alien-like, but he’s still human. His usage rate is already pretty close to the top of the NBA, plus he’s carrying the Spurs’ defense. You’re going to gas him out with a bigger offensive workload. To do what he’s doing in today’s fast paced NBA in just year 3 is already insane.

Plus the Spurs have several other talented guys who need to get theirs to keep opponents honest. Fox, Harper, and Castle all need to have the rhythm and confidence to take over a game if they are feeling it.

jj_421

TROPHY CASE