NBA expert’s new projected starting lineup for Spurs would be bad news

The up-and-coming San Antonio Spurs are ready to work through any growing pains during the preseason before the start of a crucial regular season. They are currently in the midst of their longest playoff drought after having missed it for the last five years. With star Victor Wembanyama, the expectation is that they will compete for a spot in the play-in.

While players such as Wembanyama, Chris Paul, and Devin Vassell (whenever he makes his season debut) will draw plenty of attention, Jeremy Sochan faces a make-or-break year. Sochan is entering year three.

If he doesn't show dramatic improvement, particularly as a shooter, then doubt in his potential will begin to rise. ESPN's Bobby Marks already seems pessimistic about his game considering that he projects the Spurs' starting lineup for this season not to include him.

If that ends up being the case, then that would be a surprising and potentially disappointing development for Sochans development. If he hasn't established himself as a full-time starter by his third year, then he would appear to be behind where many expected him to be at this point.

What would the Spurs starting lineup look like without Jeremy Sochan?

According to Marks, he expects the Spurs starting lineup to include Paul, Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Harrison Barnes, and Wembanyama. To his credit, that is a good starting five with Paul, Vassell, Champagnie, and Barnes all above-average 3-point shooters, and Wemby projecting to be a terrific shooter.

Having three good shooters around a Paul-Wembanyama pick-and-roll would be almost impossible to stop, and they can effectively space the floor when Wembanyama has the ball in his hands.

The same can't be said for Sochan, who, while improving as a shooter from both three and the free throw line, is still a major question mark. In his defense, he is the team's best perimeter defender, and that alone probably warrants him starting, even if for only the first six minutes of each half.

Why Jeremy Sochan should start for the Spurs

That would allow him to match up with the opposing team's best player and give the Spurs a good first line of defense. As long as Sochan can hit at least a decent percentage of open threes, score off cuts, and putbacks, and in transition, then the Spurs would probably still be a plus on offense and better defensively.

With the Spurs' closing lineup likely to include Paul, Vassell, Sochan, and Wembanyama anyway, it probably makes little difference whether he starts. If he doesn't, he wouldn't have as much value without a player for him to shut down in the second unit, and he would play limited minutes against starters.

There will likely be less spacing in bench units, exasperating his questionable shooting. As a result, were he to be benched, it would call into question his future since he fits much better as a starter. Ultimately, that decision isn't up to him, but if his shooting improves, it would be hard to keep him out of the starting five.