The Spurs have changed their identity this season, especially as it concerns the starting lineup. They are now younger and smaller, having surrounded their two veterans stars with the athletic draft selections of years past.
Their transformation has rightfully gotten a lot of attention, but their success, as it has for the past three years, has been more tied to another core that hasn’t changed all that much. The bench trio of Patty Mills, Rudy Gay and Jakob Poeltl has been at the center of everything the Spurs have done well this season, as they have before.
As exciting as it has been to watch Lonnie Walker IV, Keldon Johnson and Dejounte Murray take a leap this season, the starting lineup has actually gotten worse than it has been in the recent past.