Spurs' best lineup will include Dylan Harper, not De'Aaron Fox

There's been a lot of talk about whether the San Antonio Spurs should continue to start De'Aaron Fox over Dylan Harper, but their best lineup won't include Fox. That's not to say they will start Harper over Fox.

In fact, I expect Fox to start and Harper to continue coming off the bench next season. Yet that doesn't mean the starting five will be the Spurs' best lineup. Instead, it will be a hybrid featuring Harper.

It's worth noting that San Antonio's best two-man combo last season was Harper and Victor Wembanyama (min. 600 minutes). In fact, that duo had a better net rating than Stephon Castle and Wembanyama and Fox and Wembanyama. Equally as important, Castle and Harper had a better net rating than the backcourt pairing of Castle and Fox.

As a result, the Spurs' best lineup will feature Harper, Castle, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, and Wembanyama.

De'Aaron Fox shouldn't be a lock for the Spurs' closing lineup

That's not to say that Fox won't play in crunch time, but he'll have to earn it. In that case, the Spurs might go with a lineup of Fox, Harper, Castle, Vassell, and Wemby. They actually used that lineup against the Oklahoma City Thunder and New York Knicks in the NBA playoffs.

Otherwise, San Antonio can't afford to play Fox in crunch time if he can't execute in late-game situations. Ironically, Fox, a former Clutch Player of the Year winner, often played poorly in crunch time for the Spurs last season.

That was the case in the NBA Finals. We all saw what happened, and we all saw how great Harper played. If San Antonio is going to make their point guard trio work, they must mix and match and play the two best players when it matters most.

Spurs' best lineup will include Dylan Harper, not De'Aaron Fox

As for why Harper seems to have such a positive impact, he is already a talented slasher who can get to the rim at ease and finish with both craft and physicality. Defensively, he can more than hold his own on that end. Fox can too, but Harper is bigger and has more positional versatility.

Harper wasn't asked to do a lot of playmaking last season. Yet Harper is more than capable as a passer and doesn't have the same turnover issues that Castle has.

Pairing him with Castle at important points in games has already been successful for San Antonio. Remember, they closed both Game 1 and Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Thunder.

The Spurs have already successfully experimented with closing games with Harper

Despite some turnover issues—mainly from Castle—they played impressively well, especially in Game 1, combining to score 41 points as well as hand out 17 assists and grab 17 rebounds.

In fact, Castle, Harper, Vassell, Champagnie, and Wembanyama were the lineup they used most often during those games. The point is there's proof of concept.

That lineup offers San Antonio an unmatched combination of positional size with four perimeter players 6-4 or taller with length, making them switchable. They also have enough rebounding, spacing, ball-handling, and playmaking, plus a 7'4 big man to tie it all together.

Fox can still find his way into that lineup, but he'll have to prove it with his play. Especially after his late-game struggles last season.

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