3 Biggest winners and losers from Spurs' exciting preseason

Loser: Zach Collins

Spurs backup center Zach Collins is still working his way back from a shoulder injury and looked very rusty in the preseason. For fans who remember his play last season, it likely won't instill much confidence in him with Collins struggling to hit threes, getting bullied in the post, and even missing some bunnies at the rim.

To his credit, he continued to show that he was an above-average passer for a center and had the ability to score in the post. However, for Collins to live up to his big contract over the next two seasons, he will have to be far better on both ends of the floor. Defensively, he isn't much of a deterrent at the rim and can be exploited in the paint by bigger centers.

Offensively, he either needs to shoot better from outside or stop taking them all together because it's negatively affecting his efficiency and hurting the Spurs.

At the moment, he is still better than the third-string center, Charles Bassey, but perhaps not as much as some fans think. Bassy is a better defender and rebounder, and while he doesn't have the offensive skill that Collins does, he is more of a traditional roll-to-the-basket finisher.

On a team that has both Paul and Jones, having an athletic big man set screens and dive into the paint might be more valuable than a big man who can occasionally hit threes. Then there is Sandro Mamukelashvili, who played well in the preseason and could be an option at center. All of that is to say that Collins didn't play well enough in the preseason to cement his spot as the team's backup center.