The San Antonio Spurs gave us a wild sneak peek into their new three-guard lineup, and yeah, it was a rollercoaster ride. Despite some serious early clunkiness, De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper helped power a massive 11-point surge against the Phoenix Suns in their 123-103 preseason victory on Wednesday. If you weren’t watching, you missed a prime example of what Mitch Johnson is cooking up for the regular season.
The Gambler’s Lineup: From Zero to Hero (Almost)
Mitch Johnson’s vision for this backcourt trio with Fox, Castle, and Harper finally hit the court for the first time, and for a hot minute, it looked… rough. We’re talking rough enough that the starting five were a combined 1 of 10 for only three points before Carter Bryant subbed in for Fox early in the first quarter. Coach Johnson wasn’t sugarcoating it, admitting, “It’s the first time that group’s played together. It’s been a very stop-and-go preseason in terms of lineups. So we’re just trying to get into a little bit of a rhythm.” You could see the struggle, with their first eight minutes together posting a minus-1 net rating. It felt like watching a brand new band try to find the beat.
“When it clicked, it really clicked.”
Then, something clicked. And when it did, oh baby, did it click. Victor Wembanyama, the 7-foot-4 centerpiece to all of this, put it best: “I felt like we were trying to do the right things at the beginning, but we scored so few points. When it clicked, it really clicked.” And boy, did it ever. In the final three minutes of the first half, that new-look lineup helped the Spurs outscore the Suns by 11. By halftime, the early clunkiness had vanished, replaced by a 60-49 lead, with Fox, Harper, and Castle combining for 19 points. De’Aaron Fox, fresh off a bout of hip tightness, even threw down a second-quarter poster dunk over Rasheer Fleming, a highlight-reel moment that had him thinking, “How many times am I going to have a lane open like this?” Castle was a beast, finishing with 18 points, 14 of them coming from the free-throw line thanks to his relentless attacking drives. Harper added 9 points, matching Fox’s total for the night.
Fox was on a minutes limit in his first preseason game back, so Harrison Barnes started the second half in his place, putting a temporary pause on the three-guard experiment. But the early returns, especially that explosive end to the first half, definitely offered a tantalizing peek at the offensive force Johnson and the Spurs hope to unleash. This trio was talking about playing together all summer, even back in August during a workout in Paris. Now we’re seeing why.
The Spurs will get another shot to run this threesome out on Friday for their preseason finale against Sacramento, back at the Frost Bank Center. It’s all about finding that rhythm before the regular season kicks off against Oklahoma City next week. Can they keep that “click” going?
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply