Blake Wesley's minutes must be slashed for two inarguable reasons

Blake Wesley brings defense and energy to the San Antonio Spurs and last year, that was enough, but that's no longer the case, and we don't have to lie about it because we like him. He's not as frustrating as Keldon Johnson can be, but there are times when he's not far off. He's neither a pure point guard nor a prolific scoring shooting guard.

He's an undersized tweener who struggles to provide consistency on the offensive end of the floor, and his minutes are costing SA valuable possessions. This isn't a referendum on his longevity—Wesley could still carve out a great career for himself, but he's not there yet, and his time on the court should be cut down.

Wesley has lowest plus/minus and 3PT% on the Spurs

It's pretty impressive to average the fewest minutes out of all the main rotational players, yet hold the lowest plus/minus score. It tells you he's not adding as much value as fans would hope. He's already played more than he probably would when the Spurs get deeper into the season, but the injuries opened the doors for him.

However, San Antonio would be better served by leaving those doors barely cracked. Malaki Branham is no Patty Mills, but at least he can get hot and provide an offensive punch. That's the area the Spurs are having the most trouble with. Blake plays 11.8 minutes per game, can't hit a three, and has almost a pure 1/1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

It doesn't help that the Notre Dame product shoots 15% from three in a league that emphasizes shooting from beyond the arc. Yes, even lower than Keldon Johnson (26%). Meanwhile, Branham is shooting 47% from 3. He already played more minutes than Wesley (14.6), but that number could increase to 16 or 17 if that means reducing Blake's time on the court.

The Spurs are treading water right now, but at a rapid pace. Basically, they are playing above expectations in several areas, but because of their fluctuating lineup, they're unable to develop a rhythm of consistency with their personnel. They haven't even had all of their best players on the floor at the same time yet since Jeremy Sochan was injured before Devin Vassell returned.

The positives: their defense has taken a significant leap, they've already won a couple of tight games after massive struggles there last season, they have the 7th most difficult strength-of-schedule, yet they're winning games at a higher rate than before, and they're doing it all without solid ground under their feet.

But when you keep rolling out offensively challenged players, you can't be surprised when scoring droughts occur. This is a problem that should correct itself somewhat once everyone returns, but this is a physical sport, and injuries will occur. When that happens, the Spurs should look to increase the minutes of others to stay afloat instead of increasing Wesley's minutes until he improves more.