The San Antonio Spurs may be finding success with their three-guard starting lineup, but NBA analyst Kenny Smith isn’t convinced the approach can work for the long haul.
During ESPN’s “Inside the NBA” pregame show Wednesday, ahead of the Spurs’ home matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, Smith questioned whether San Antonio can sustain its success with De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper sharing the floor.
“I don’t know if that’s sustainable, honestly,” Smith said. “I think one of the advantages that they had was that these three guards are really, really good. But they lack size.”
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Smith’s biggest concern centers on Castle, whose physicality and athleticism have made him a valuable part of San Antonio’s backcourt.
With the Spurs using three guards, Castle is tasked with playing more minutes at small forward, where he must contend with bigger opponents and take on additional rebounding responsibilities.
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“Instead of having Castle running in and using his athleticism to get rebounds, he’s boxing out to go get it,” Smith said.
Smith argued that Castle is better suited to shooting guard, where his strength gives him an advantage against smaller players.
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“I like when Castle’s playing the guard spot and not the three, because he’s so physical,” Smith said. “There’s not a lot of two guards in the league (like him).”
San Antonio enters Wednesday’s nationally televised matchup with Dallas at 5-2 and on a five-game winning streak, giving the Spurs another chance to test the lineup.
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This article originally published at Kenny Smith questions whether Spurs’ three-guard lineup can last with Fox, Castle and Harper.
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