De’Aaron Fox injury opens perfect opportunity for classic Spurs magic

San Antonio is expected to begin the season without their second-best player. De'Aaron Fox is still recovering from the hamstring injury he suffered a couple of months ago, but it shouldn't take him long to get back on the court. While he's out, the Spurs have plenty of players who can step up and help the team win. Their depth has finally put them in that position, and it's a familiar one.

Back in the days of Timmy D, whenever a member (or members) of the Big Three was out, the opposing team still had their work cut out for them. Games against the Spurs were never easy, regardless of who was in the lineup. The team's depth, system, and selflessness made them a problem to deal with, and this iteration can do the same thing.

The Spurs have the most depth they've had in years

By the time the season starts, everyone but Fox should be back in the lineup. Mitch Johnson has been consistent in his message to the media that all of the guys who haven't played yet are doing well and ramping up to getting on the court. We've had an injured player return each night, so if that continues, we'll get Jeremy Sochan or Kelly Olynyk back for the final preseason game.

Maybe they'll even shock us and bring them both back for the finale, but either way, with the nine days until the regular season opener, both players should be ready to go when the real action begins in Dallas.

You can only take so much from the exhibition games, but what's being put on display is also not nothing. The guys look anxious. The good kind. This team wants to win, and you can tell that by how hard they've been working for these wins. They're not taking any competition for granted, and it's translating onto the floor.

They'll look to continue that trend of getting the win no matter who is on the floor, because that's the standard set in San Antonio long ago. You may not always get the victory when guys are out, but it's not going to be for lack of effort or belief. Opposing teams are going to have to earn those games, and they're going to lose quite a few of them.

Fox is expected back in the lineup by the first week of November. If he doesn't miss a game that month, the team will only need to get through five without him. Those games are against the Mavericks, Pelicans, Nets, Raptors, and Heat. They can easily come out of that stretch with a 3-2 record or better. And I'm sure they expect to.