Luke Kornet must answer his playoff questions in the Spurs’ October gauntlet

This season will be a big one for Luke Kornet. His recent playoff struggles, combined with the San Antonio Spurs' increased range of options at his position, place tons of pressure on him to step up as a reliable interior force. Luckily, he has a chance to make a strong initial impression through the end of October.

Now, Kornet deserves a ton of credit for what he brought to the table in his first year with San Antonio. He held down the fort during an early stretch without Victor Wembanyama and spent most of the season as a consistent backup center, posting career highs in points and rebounds.

But the postseason was a different animal, exposing his shortcomings on both sides of the floor. With the addition of Tarris Reed Jr. and Jayden Quaintance, he could eventually be fighting to keep his spot in the Spurs' rotation. We'll get a good idea of how far he's come as an inside presence during the first few weeks of the season.

The Spurs' first set of opponents will challenge Kornet's interior play

The first early stretch of the season will be no cakewalk for Mitch Johnson's crew. They'll face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Most of those groups have strong interior play. Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein, Rudy Gobert, and Jaren Jackson Jr. are just a few names that the Spurs must have on their radar in the first few weeks. For Kornet, this is the exact sort of challenge that will give us an idea of how well he can rebound and score against teams with lots of size and physicality.

Each of those squads also has ball-handlers who can attack the paint at will. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Cooper Flagg, and Amen Thompson are players who can get past the first line of defense and finish at the basket.

Kornet's ability to protect the rim and limit paint points during his minutes will be extremely important as he makes his case to be the Spurs' long-term backup center.

Tarris Reed Jr. isn't making it easy on Kornet

The Spurs' newest addition to their frontcourt was amazing throughout the preseason. Tarris Reed Jr. has dominated the glass on both sides of the floor, pulling down 46 rebounds, and he's also had some impressive moments as a rim protector.

Those are the areas Kornet fell short in the playoffs. To stay top of mind for Mitch Johnson throughout the season, he needs to make a deafening statement in the Spurs' first set of games.

So Kornet has his work cut out for him. No longer is he this team's only reliable backup center option; he has real competition behind him. Setting a strong tone in October will make a huge difference for him and the Spurs as a whole.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow