This unorthodox bench lineup could be pure fun for Spurs

Team Chemistry and Growing Together

Youth can give a team and its lineups a big advantage, but only to a point. Too much youth can begin to err on the side of inexperience or lack of polish, which isn’t necessarily what you want coming off the bench. But in this lineup’s case, Keldon Johnson and Sandro Mamukelashvili could help to combat that problem. 

Johnson has quite a bit of seasoning under his belt at this point in his career having started 205 games—roughly 2.5 full seasons—for the Spurs. Sidy Cissoko and Malaki Branham are the youngsters that will have the opportunity to soak in some of Johnson’s wisdom in that regard, and yet Johnson will still be able to retain a primary offensive role. 

Sandro Mamukelashvili has far less experience with the Spurs compared to Johnson, but his cerebral, European style of play could be beneficial to the less refined, yet highly athletic style of play that Bassey brings to the table at this point. Dynamics like these foster an environment of mentorship and learning, both of which are key ingredients in the recipe for success.