Mitch Johnson is playing a dangerous game with Spurs' playoff rotation

The NBA playoffs are just around the corner for the San Antonio Spurs, but coach Mitch Johnson is still tinkering with his rotation. Experimenting with different lineups at such a late stage in the regular season is unusual since this is the time most coaches settle on their playoff rotation.

Nevertheless, Johnson has a good reason for experimenting, with San Antonio being one of the deepest teams in the NBA. Recently, we've seen him experiment with playing small ball more often.

That is a questionable decision considering the Spurs have two seven-foot behemoths in Victor Wembanyama and Luke Kornet. However, we've seen lineups without either lately.

To his credit, some of that is matchup-based, and Johnson is right to experiment with an unorthodox lineup in case one sticks. Still, we've even seen some truly brazen five-man-unit lineups.

Mitch Johnson is experimenting with playing small ball

One lineup even saw Johnson play De'Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell, Keldon Johnson, Julian Champagnie, and Carter Bryant together. That might be too small for many fans' taste with Bryant playing at center.

The Spurs are playing smaller, but they have excellent perimeter size. Johnson is 6'4" and built like a running back, while Bryant is 6'8" and can jump out of the gym.

Barnes may not have either attribute, but he has enough size to competently play the four defensively while being a sharpshooter on offense. As for Champagnie, he's also 6'8, and a good rebounder as a combo forward.

Those players give Coach Johnson the ability to play small without really playing small. Especially with his point guard trio of Fox, Castle, and Dylan Harper.

Small ball should be an option for the Spurs, just not the first option

Each has more than enough size to play point guard and even shooting guard, meaning that San Antonio has plenty of size at every position. Even if they aren't playing a seven-footer.

Still, the Spurs shouldn't be playing many minutes without Wembanyama or Kornet. Both of those players are crucial to this team's success, and having one on the floor at all times is a competitive advantage.

Barring another team playing super small, it's difficult to envision a scenario where San Antonio would be better doing the same. They might have more speed and spacing but wouldn't have the rim protection that Wembanyama and Kornet provide.

In the event of injury to those two players or foul trouble, playing small could work to buy the Silver and Black a few minutes. Even so, Wembanyama will likely play more minutes in the playoffs. Kornet is also playing well behind him.

Therefore, San Antonio shouldn't stray too far from what's made them successful this season.