How Good Really are the San Antonio Spurs??

How Good Really are the San Antonio Spurs??

The San Antonio Spurs had a fantastic off seasonason, but can they take the leap? Can they become a perennial playoff team? And I think this year, the answer is yes. They’ve added a couple of fantastic rookies with the number two overall pick in the draft, Dylan Harper, as well as Carter Bryant, who may not be as impactful this year, but down the road is going to be fantastic. They’ve added a couple of veterans as well at the backup four and five with Kelly Oolen and with Luke Cornette. And I think the big reason we’re going to see a full year of a healthy dear in Fox with year three Wimby and oh yeah by the way they got the reigning rookie of the year as well. Make no mistakes about it however Victor Wibama is the engine. He’s the everything for this team. And I think it all depends on how well he plays next year as to how far he takes him. I mean he’s a 7’4 center with an 8ft wingspan. There is nothing anybody in the league can do about this. when he wants to activate takeover mode, he can. He averaged 24.3 points a game, 11 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals, and 3.8 blocks per game last year on 48% shooting from the field and 35% from three. And when he is on, like I said, he’s the most unguardable player in the league because he is 7’4 and knocks down the three ball. We’ve seen him go crazy like in games like this one against Washington where he had 50 points, six rebounds, three blocks, and two assists. Remember, this is his second year in the league. He’s picking and popping with ease. Jonas Valenunis has no hope whatsoever to contest and block that shot. Here he is coming off of a down screener. Just coming off of a cut and facing up at the top of the key. His defense is elite as well. Give me that OG Anobi. And then like he shouldn’t be doing stuff like this. This is a ridiculous pass versus the Knicks on Christmas Day. He had 42 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, and four blocks. Letting everybody know I’ve arrived. And I mean business. Making tough fall away jumpers into the Knicks bench from 30 ft. And then like I said, just look at the vision right here. He looks like he’s going up for the shot. All four Knicks defenders close around him and instead he finds Sohan who is slipped behind the defense right to the rim and gets the layup to go picking and popping from the logo like we were talking about. A ridiculous ability right here. And if you’re not going to get over the top of the screen, he’s going to knock it down and he showed you. and then just stepping into one in transition from the Chase logo in Madison Square Garden. And he’s going to do stuff like this alien type stuff where it just shouldn’t seem possible. And he’s going to make it work because of his unique blend of size, athleticism, and agility getting to spots right there. Josh Hart has no chance whatsoever. He’s also got some vision. Nice pocket pass right here to Devin Basel for the big time slam. And then getting down, nice cutting as well, finding Sohan. He’s going to be a stud and we’ll see how far he can take them as their number one guy. And then De’Aran Fox, we unfairly judged the Wimby Fox duo last year because we only got 20 games of it. And you may be wondering why I’m showing the 23 24 stats for De’Aran Fox. Well, that’s because it’s the best representation we have of him. He’s going to be 28 years old this year, coming off of a season where, yeah, he didn’t really impress, but he couldn’t. He had a broken finger in his shooting hand for the entire season. There was a reason his splits were down. There was a reason his numbers were down. But looking at this starting lineup, there’s no reason that this shouldn’t be a top eight team in the West, maybe even a top six team in the West. And I understand what you’re thinking. The West is absolutely loaded. This team is loaded. You got guys like Harrison Barnes who’s going to be a perfect blue guy. They shot 43% from three on four and a half attempts last year, knocking down three balls off the catch, in the corner, corner specialist. And then you’ve also got guys in the front court coming off the bench. Just veterans sprinkled in with young guys. It’s a beautiful combo. This will probably be what the backup unit looks like, although we probably see some Kell Johnson instead of Carter Bryant early on as he kind of adjusts to the NBA. And then you also got Kelly Olen you can throw in there from time to time. And don’t forget about Stefan Castle, who we haven’t even talked about yet, but he is going to be a monster for this Spurs team. Coming off of a rookie season where he won rookie of the year, averaged almost 15 a game with four rebounds and 3.7 assists in just 27 minutes a night. I know the shooting splits were not there, but that’s not what he was coming out of college. He was an elite defender and a connector on the offensive side of the ball that can get to the rim. And that’s what he’s been so far in the league. If they can work on his jumper a little bit, he’s going to be dynamic. 6’6 with a 69 wingspan coming in at 215 pounds. He is a big dude and a phenomenal point of attack defender. Then we get to the rookie class and it starts with Dylan Harper, the number two overall pick in the draft. And I’m so glad the Spurs didn’t overthink this one and just went with their gut, bringing in Harper, who averaged 19.4 a game, 4.6 rebounds, and four assists last year at Ruckers on 48% shooting from the field, 33% from downtown on 5.2 attempts a night. And this was the pick. He is the clear second best player in this draft behind Cooper Flag. In a lot of years, he would be the number one overall pick because he’s a 66 guard with 215 lb frame that really resembles Cade Cunningham that can also get downhill. I think he’s maybe a little bit better out of the pick and roll. As crazy as that is to say, because Kade is one of the best pick and roll initiators in the league, Dylan Harper might be a little bit better as a prospect. And now the Spurs have a legitimate scary three-headed guard monster with Castle, Harper, and Fox. And Harper is going to be a monster. The only thing that can stop them is the three-point line. And then Carter Bryant, who is the other rookie they brought in, the other lottery pick they have in man, he is oozing with potential coming in with a 6’8 frame with a 7ft wingspan, which is really, really nice to have. That’s what NBA teams love. That’s what gets NBA scouts salivating is that wingspan, that length, and that fluidity with him. Now, I know he only averaged 6 and a half points a game, four rebounds, a steal, a block, and an assist, but he only played 19 minutes as a freshman at Arizona. So, limited playing time leads to limited numbers. But next year, he should be getting a little bit of burn and then a lot of G-League time as well. 46% from the field, 37% from three, but the numbers jumped up in conference play when his minutes went up. And per 36, he averaged 13.8 points a game, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. And this is what gets scouts excited. Jab, step, pull up, three ball, knocking it down on the biggest stage in college basketball, which is the NCAA tournament. Misses the three here, but gets the offensive rebound and ends up hanging from the rim with the big time jam. And then the recovery right here. This is textbook. This is beautiful. Flying off the screen, flying high, catching lobs. Carter Bryant is going to be a monster. And then I love the veteran additions that they have brought in with guys like Kelly Oolen getting a dunk there against the Spurs. He last year or this year will be 34, excuse me, coming off his age 33 season. He’s 6’11, only got a 610 wingspan, but he’s a fantastic veteran because he can do a little bit of everything. Here he is bringing the ball up the court and stepping into a three ball as a 611 post. So he is a hybrid stretch four. Nice cut right here getting to a spot, hitting a tough turnaround. jumper averaged 10.7 points, six rebounds, 3.6 assists, and one steal in just 25 minutes a game last year on 50% shooting from the field, 39% from three. A really solid year for Oolen. And I mean, coming off of down screens, knocking down the three ball, that was actually a flex option cut. And then against Thompson, who’s one of the better perimeter defenders in the league, gets to a spot and knocks it down. And they’re going to have a nice one to punch off the bench with both Oolen who they bring in for just Malachi Brand and Blake Wesley in a second. And then they also through free agency bring in Luke Cornet. And maybe they overpaid it a little bit for him, but a 4-year $41 million deal it is for Cornet. And that should be pretty favorable. I mean, maybe they had to overpay a little bit because it’s a younger team trying to get a more established post. He averaged six points a game last year, 5.3 rebounds, 1.6 six assists, a block in 18 minutes a game, shot 67% from the field, and did not attempt a three. But interestingly enough, a couple of years ago, back in 20189, he shot 35% from three on 4.2 attempts a game. So maybe he’s got that in his bag. Give me that Stefan Castle. But now they’re teammates per 36. The numbers are fantastic. And he showed in the playoffs he can play in big time meaningful NBA action like in the Knicks series where he had a Luke Cornet game. put his impact all over that game. He’s 7-2 with a 76 wingspan. So along with Wimi, they’re going to be anchoring that front court and it’s going to be a big long front court for the Spurs this year and I think that’s what they want. With that being said though, I think the Spurs, my bold prediction is they’re a top six team next year in the West. With that being said, that’s going to be it for today’s video. Thanks so much for watching. Make sure to like button, leave me a comment down below, and hit that subscribe button if you did enjoy it and any point. And with all that being said, thanks so much for watching today’s video.

This video looks at the San Antonio spurs and talks about how good they are supposed to be behind Victor Wembanyama and DeAaron Fox
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