Spurs Try a Three-Guard Lineup With Fox, Harper and Castle

Spurs Start Fox, Harper and Castle Together in Preseason Win Over Suns

San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson deployed a three-guard lineup of De'Aaron Fox, Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle for the first time this preseason, a 123-103 win over Phoenix on Wednesday, ESPN reported. Fox was making his preseason debut after general soreness kept him out of the opener against Atlanta.

It's time to push forward appropriately.

The start was choppy, with Harper and Castle missing their first five shots. By halftime the trio had 31 points, 12 rebounds and six assists, and the Spurs led 60-49. Castle scored a game-high 18, including 14 from the free throw line, and Harper finished with nine points. Fox played just 18 minutes 33 seconds, all in the first half.

Spurs Three-Guard Lineup: What the Minutes Say

The sample is tiny, and ESPN supplies the context that matters most. The three played 11 minutes together in the first half and posted a net rating of plus-10. Over all of last season they shared only 69 minutes, 25 of them in the NBA Finals, and opponents outscored San Antonio by 47 points in that time.

Source: ESPN Research, as reported October 15.

Our Read: A Lineup Worth Testing, Not Yet Proven

• Every pair has worked, the trio has not. All three two-man pairings were clearly positive in the regular season, while the three together were badly outscored. A group can be better than any pair and still fail as a unit, but that is the gap Johnson has to close.
• Eleven preseason minutes prove little. A plus-10 against an opponent in October is encouraging and nothing more. We would weigh the 69 regular-season minutes more heavily.
• Wembanyama may be the point of it. He said the handlers around him make pick-and-roll easier. Our reading is that the lineup is built to feed him, and spacing is what we would look for first.
• Fox's health is the other variable. The soreness cost him the opener, and he was held to a half. The plan only matters if he is available.

What to Watch as the Season Opens

• Whether Johnson keeps the trio in the starting five once Fox is playing full minutes.
• The three-guard group's net rating and how often the Spurs use it in close fourth quarters.
• Spacing around Victor Wembanyama when all three handlers share the floor.
• How the Spurs start games, since Johnson called the opening possessions sloppy.

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