Game Thread Spurs @ Pacers (Mon 10/13/25) [6:00PM CDT]

[wEmBoY]

Cool. Who you benching?

if fox still on the team. Either castle or vassell

 

[dn0774]

I’m good with Dylan off the bench to start the year, I just hope Mitch is willing to be fluid with the starters if the time comes. If Vassell or Barnes or even Castle aren’t getting it done or are too out for themselves, we now have a guy who can legitimately displace them.

Dylan is still a rookie and rookies are notoriously inconsistent, but seeing him be such a natural with the ball in his hands bodes well clearly. The days of Vassell or Julian or Keldon bringing the ball up court need to be over with Fox and Harper in the fold.

 

[Corso]

if fox still on the team. Either castle or vassell

I guess we'll see how the coaching staff handles things.
I think there is potential for a lot of movement as the season progresses.
You may get your wish.

 

[Kick-Stand]

Not on the spurs with fox. I have feeling he will end up on a different team and become a superstar like harden.

I don't get this. Fox is almost a carbon copy of Tony Parker and Tony didn't hold Manu's game back at all.

 

[Kick-Stand]

Only worry is that Mitch still prioritise Fox and Castle over D-Harp and he can choose to walk at the end of their rookie contract like Harden

Harden didn't walk, he forced his way out when OKC wouldn't pay him what he was worth. He was perfectly fine playing off the bench on such a stacked team but he wasn't going to take shorts on his money. If the Spurs pull the same crap on Dylan they deserve to lose him too.

 

[LeBowen]

All I know is that past ~5 years has turned a lot of our fanbase into doomers and that they're concerned about absolute non-issues.
We have two seasons of not caring about cap situation ahead of us, we just need to hope important players can stay injury free and we're good to go.
Projecting about what's going to happen in 3 to 5 years is ridiculous considering all the currently unknown variables that will change along the way.

 

[spurraider21]

Cool. Who you benching?

if fox still on the team. Either castle or vassell

yeah if they do end up deciding harper is too good to bench, i think you bench castle because i like having one of these facilitators off the bench to make it easier to stagger them all. now if castle ends up becoming a regular 36% 3 point shooter and the spacing isnt being problematic... you can revisit

 

[Arguendo]

Harper is a future starter. You dont hide your 2nd overall pick to the bench as 6th man.lmao

More hahahaha.
So you don't understand the concept of comparison? The Westbrook/Harden finals OKC team is nothing like this current Spurs team. Fox is 8+ years older, not 8 months. He is 19, fox is almost 28.
Fox/Harper/Castle can play together, they don't have to shed Harper.
Its not "hiding" a 19y/o, development needs to occur. He can develop his game playing the 2 next to Fox and leading the bench, kinda like Harden did but not being the same age. Its not an either or. Their are plenty of minutes not counting Fox isn't super durable. There's room for both, Fox can although Harper to fully develop.
This is like freaking out that Duncan can't they with Robinson. That's a much closer comp than Westbrook/Harden.

 

[Corso]

yeah if they do end up deciding harper is too good to bench, i think you bench castle because i like having one of these facilitators off the bench to make it easier to stagger them all. now if castle ends up becoming a regular 36% 3 point shooter and the spacing isnt being problematic... you can revisit

Honestly I think Harper is already a better facilitator than Castle. Maybe we need to rethink this stance.

 

[wEmBoY]

I don't get this. Fox is almost a carbon copy of Tony Parker and Tony didn't hold Manu's game back at all.

Harper isnt like manu. Yes they are both left handed but they’re playstyle is different. Haroer is a PG and Manu is a SG And also harper has a superstar potential unlike manu who is a 6thman most of his career.

 

[Arguendo]

All I know is that past ~5 years has turned a lot of our fanbase into doomers and that they're concerned about absolute non-issues.
We have two seasons of not caring about cap situation ahead of us, we just need to hope important players can stay injury free and we're good to go.
Projecting about what's going to happen in 3 to 5 years is ridiculous considering all the currently unknown variables that will change along the way.

Its unreal. Can please see if there's any reason what-so-ever to freak out before freaking out?

Its crazy that 25-30+mpg as a reserve is somehow an insult or absurd for a rookie/developing player. He'll get his deserved playing time regardless of starter vs bench and right now our rotations look liked they'd be much better served not starting our 3 best ball handlers/creators together.

 

[spurraider21]

Honestly I think Harper is already a better facilitator than Castle. Maybe we need to rethink this stance.

well he's a better driver which simply opens up more passing opportunities. i still think for now you bring Harper off the bench until he proves it in NBA action.

i said it elsewhere but i like the idea of starting Fox for his 36 minutes, have Harper play (for now) about 25 minutes (all 12 of the non-fox minutes, assuming the game is competitive), and about 12-13 minutes alongside Fox. you have Castle starting and playing about 30 minutes, never as the sole lead guard. whatever leftover minutes would feature lineups with champ/vassell sliding down to the 2

whatever we do, whoever we start, however many minutes these guys earn, i think we absolutely should have one of Fox or Harper on the floor for 100% of the competitive minutes, much like we should do with wemby/kornet at center. if they can share time, great. but whether or not they can, it should not come at the expense of having one on the floor at all times

 

[Corso]

well he's a better driver which simply opens up more passing opportunities. i still think for now you bring Harper off the bench until he proves it in NBA action.

i said it elsewhere but i like the idea of starting Fox for his 36 minutes, have Harper play (for now) about 25 minutes (all 12 of the non-fox minutes, assuming the game is competitive), and about 12-13 minutes alongside Fox. you have Castle starting and playing about 30 minutes, never as the sole lead guard. whatever leftover minutes would feature lineups with champ/vassell sliding down to the 2

whatever we do, whoever we start, however many minutes these guys earn, i think we absolutely should have one of Fox or Harper on the floor for 100% of the competitive minutes, much like we should do with wemby/kornet at center. if they can share time, great. but whether or not they can, it should not come at the expense of having one on the floor at all times

Sounds good. Reevaluation as the season goes, of course.

 

[wemvp]

Will be nice to see how this team looks once teams are playing for real. Established vets around the league aren't in try hard mode right now. It's why Barnes isnt concerning at all. This team will still have to show they can finish games, and especially in the first 1/3 of the season when everyone is trying to win and the tankers haven't gone all in yet.

 

[O_V]

couldn't make the playoffs. Doing it now would be massively counterproductive. Maybe I'm

I don't know how to get rid of this. Disregard.

Cool. Who you benching?

I think making Fox instant offense as the first guy off the bench is something you can sell him on. Tell him to abuse the other team, first with Wemby, and then as the primary everything when Vic sits. Strategically that makes sense to me.

 

[O_V]

Will be nice to see how this team looks once teams are playing for real. Established vets around the league aren't in try hard mode right now. It's why Barnes isnt concerning at all. This team will still have to show they can finish games, and especially in the first 1/3 of the season when everyone is trying to win and the tankers haven't gone all in yet.

I was worried about Barnes until someone reminded me he was ass to start last year too.

 

[Corso]

I don't know how to get rid of this. Disregard.

I think making Fox instant offense as the first guy off the bench is something you can sell him on. Tell him to abuse the other team, first with Wemby, and then as the primary everything when Vic sits. Strategically that makes sense to me.

Definitely, if on the bench, a priority to be the 1st off it and getting serious minutes.

I'd make him a closer sooner rather than later.

 

[wemvp]

I don't know how to get rid of this. Disregard.

I think making Fox instant offense as the first guy off the bench is something you can sell him on. Tell him to abuse the other team, first with Wemby, and then as the primary everything when Vic sits. Strategically that makes sense to me.

Fox would be a league anomaly if he'd buy in to coming off the bench at this point in his career with that salary he's making. I doubt that would happen. I see Fox starting and Harper as the starting SG before I see Fox coming off the bench at any time during this contract.

 

[Arguendo]

Harper isnt like manu. Yes they are both left handed but they’re playstyle is different. Haroer is a PG and Manu is a SG And also harper has a superstar potential unlike manu who is a 6thman most of his career.

Do you actually remember Manu as a rookie? Do you actually remember Manu at all? The guy is a HOFer for a reason, he absolutely had "superstar potential". We already had a Top10 All-time superstar and another first ballot HOFer who finished Top15 MVP 7 times. I'm getting the sense you don't know WTF you are talking about. Its exactly like saying Harden didn't have "superstar potential" if he stuck with OKC and they won 4 titles. He choose not to be a "superstar" on a worse franchise to win.

Manu was absolutely a primary creator regardless of positional labels, but he wanted to win and he helped the team more doing part-time primary and part-time secondary. We simply didn't need him to carry that FT be because that was Tony's forte and Manu was much more versatile player. The Tony/Manu comp is a good comp for Fox/Harper except for age/development curve.

Manu was 25 coming off a Euroleague MVP, only started 5 games, played 20.7mpg. He was developed but they didn't force him into the starting lineup, they paired him with Speedy off the bench and let Tony & Cap'n Jack cook with Timmy.
Harper is not 25, he's not developed. But he does look like the best option to lead the bench and play secondary handler when next to Fox.

 

[Corso]

Do you actually remember Manu as a rookie? Do you actually remember Manu at all? The guy is a HOFer for a reason, he absolutely had "superstar potential". We already had a Top10 All-time superstar and another first ballot HOFer who finished Top15 MVP 7 times. I'm getting the sense you don't know WTF you are talking about. Its exactly like saying Harden didn't have "superstar potential" if he stuck with OKC and they won 4 titles. He choose not to be a "superstar" on a worse franchise to win.

Manu was absolutely a primary creator regardless of positional labels, but he wanted to win and he helped the team more doing part-time primary and part-time secondary. We simply didn't need him to carry that FT be because that was Tony's forte and Manu was much more versatile player. The Tony/Manu comp is a good comp for Fox/Harper except for age/development curve.

Manu was 25 coming off a Euroleague MVP, only started 5 games, played 20.7mpg. He was developed but they didn't force him into the starting lineup, they paired him with Speedy off the bench and let Tony & Cap'n Jack cook with Timmy.
Harper is not 25, he's not developed. But he does look like the best option to lead the bench and play secondary handler when next to Fox.

@sKiN20 is not exactly an astute poster.

 

[wEmBoY]

Do you actually remember Manu as a rookie? Do you actually remember Manu at all? The guy is a HOFer for a reason, he absolutely had "superstar potential". We already had a Top10 All-time superstar and another first ballot HOFer who finished Top15 MVP 7 times. I'm getting the sense you don't know WTF you are talking about. Its exactly like saying Harden didn't have "superstar potential" if he stuck with OKC and they won 4 titles. He choose not to be a "superstar" on a worse franchise to win.

Manu was absolutely a primary creator regardless of positional labels, but he wanted to win and he helped the team more doing part-time primary and part-time secondary. We simply didn't need him to carry that FT be because that was Tony's forte and Manu was much more versatile player. The Tony/Manu comp is a good comp for Fox/Harper except for age/development curve.

Manu was 25 coming off a Euroleague MVP, only started 5 games, played 20.7mpg. He was developed but they didn't force him into the starting lineup, they paired him with Speedy off the bench and let Tony & Cap'n Jack cook with Timmy.
Harper is not 25, he's not developed. But he does look like the best option to lead the bench and play secondary handler when next to Fox.

Ofcourse i know manu very well. Manu was a 25 year old rookie. By the time harper reach that age he might have allstar, all NBA, all those accolades in his belt. The thing is i dont want harper to be like manu and just be a 6th man. Also manu didnt become a superstar in the NBA. Yes he is a hall of famer like mitch richmond is. Manu was a hall of famer primarily not because of his nba career, its because of international play and olympics. harper might not be able to reach his full potential in a spurs uniform. Especially if he just setlle for just being a 6th man.

 

[brazil]

Ofcourse i know manu very well. Manu was a 25 year old rookie. By the time harper reach that age he might have allstar, all NBA, all those accolades in his belt. The thing is i dont want harper to be like manu and just be a 6th man. Also manu didnt become a superstar in the NBA. Yes he is a hall of famer like mitch richmond is. Manu was a hall of famer primarily not because of his nba career, its because of international play and olympics. harper might not be able to reach his full potential in a spurs uniform. Especially if he just setlle for just being a 6th man.

bro... Manu would have been HOFer even without his international play. Also I don't get your "just" a 6th man... Manu started games off the bench but you can bet he was always playing during clutch time, Pop would have benched TP during those 5 last mn before Manu.

If Harper have "just" the same career and same impact than Manu you can bet Spurs win several additional titles.

 

[brazil]

That's the effect of the new forum... look at me praising Manu

 

[wemvp]

The history of the NBA is littered with 20+ ppg stat monsters and even HoFers who never won jack shit. Manu was a team first warrior who wanted to win more than he gave a shit about starting and being seen as a "superstar". Harper would be lucky to have 4 titles and be a star player and HoFer with both starting and coming off the bench throughout his career.

We'll see if he has what it takes.

 

[sfernald]

They just gave that guy $200M so, yes, he will get the nod. If they can't figure it out with all those guys, my hope is that Fox is the big contract in a few years that brings in the finish piece for a title push.

I would love to see them trade Fox for Siakam. Perfect PF to put next to Wendy. Such a smart player and great shooter. Put him between Harper/Castle/Bryant and Wenby and I bet they make the conference finals (I am jumping ahead in my mind a couple years lol).