Mitch Johnson's guard-heavy lineup looked best when he stopped using it (but it's early)

De'Aaron Fox-Stephon Castle-Dylan Harper-Devin Vassell-Victor Wembanyama. That's the unit.

We got a half of Mitch Johnson's highly anticipated guard-heavy lineup in preseason game four against the Suns' backup dancers, and the jury is still out. Many worried about the rebounding ability of this unit, and that concern was realized. But there was good to take away from the experiment, and it's only fair to point out that this is only the beginning.

The Spurs' heavy guard group still needs work

Before we get into it, the first thing we need to do is change the name of the unit. Devin Vassell may play forward occasionally, but he is not a traditional forward. He's a guard, too, so it's a 4-guard lineup, not a 3-guard lineup like we've all been saying. I've been a culprit of this error myself, but it doesn't matter how far you've traveled; if you realize you're going the wrong way, turn around.

I digress.

De'Aaron Fox (2/2 3PM) and Dylan Harper (1/2 3PM) will need to continue knocking down outside shots to open up the floor because Phoenix did not respect their shooting ability at the start of this game. Stephon Castle went 0/2 from deep. The floor was condensed, as the Suns' backups played for the drive on every possession. The result was a 1-10 FG start for the Silver and Black.

To the Spurs' credit, when the starting five were back on the floor to close the first half, they went on a run. Shots were being made, and they were beginning to establish a bit of chemistry. Would that success have happened with Dillon Brooks and Devin Booker on the floor? It's hard to say, but you can only play who's in front of you.

An early positive note was the defense. The Suns were scoreless two and a half minutes into the game. San Antonio swarmed on that end of the floor, getting their hands into passing lanes and contesting everything PHX put up.

But once Phoenix started making shots, it was an open highway to the paint as they repeatedly drew Victor Wembanyama away from the basket and even attacked him with success at times when he was still down there.

That's not a strategy we anticipate working long-term against the Alien, but the NBA is a crazy place, so it's something to keep an eye on. The run to end the first half was encouraging, but we're not going to throw a parade for getting it together for a stretch against backups.

Two ball handlers and two spacers is the actual answer

I'll tell you one thing: Spurs Nation has already lived through the Jeremy Sochan point guard experiment; many won't tolerate too much tinkering when SA's last method took them to the NBA Finals. Since it was Fox's first night of action, he didn't play in the second half, and Harrison Barnes took his place next to the rest of the starters.

It was the best San Antonio looked all night, and they pushed the lead to nearly 20 points. Two ball handlers and two spacers next to Wemby just makes sense.

That doesn't mean the idea can't work. Anything new takes time. But the Spurs can't lose a bunch of regular-season games because they're playing around with lineups. They've already set the expectations; they want the number one seed. If that's going to happen while fielding 4 guards in the starting lineup, they'd better figure it out fast.

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