Spurs finally gave De'Aaron Fox his biggest wish and it only took half a season

The Spurs are 31-14, more than halfway through the regular season. That's way better than people thought they'd be before the 2025-26 campaign began, so far be it from me to complain about the offense... But I'm going to complain about the offense because what we saw at the end of the Utah game is what we should have been seeing all season.

This social media user makes a great point. These were actions similar to what we saw Chris Paul run with Victor Wembanyama last season, and when De'Aaron Fox was added, most thought we'd see a more dynamic version of it. Even more so when it's closing time.

That hasn't been the case, but the success they had last night should be all the proof Mitch Johnson needs to use it more often, especially considering the fact that the former Kings guard told everyone that he and Vic want to be the best pick-and-roll duo in the league over the summer.

The Spurs aren't taking full advantage of their player's strengths

What if I told you that Ryan Rollins, Derrick White, and CJ McCollum run more pick-and-rolls per game than De'Aaron Fox? Because they do. Swipa is only averaging 5.6 such actions per night. That's 28th in the league, and as one of the more devastating PNR players basketball has to offer, that's egregious. There are only 30 teams in the NBA, so that math does not work for me.

San Antonio has a bunch of talented guys who can handle the ball, attack the paint, and put pressure on defenses. It's reasonable to want each player to get a chance to do that. But they've leaned too far into a bizarro offense, flipping Fox and Stephon Castle's roles way more than they should be.

The younger half of Area 51 is an athletic cheat code, but he can use that more effectively when defenses aren't staring at him, waiting for the drive to the basket that they know is coming. He's been working on his mid-range pull-up jumper, and I'm loving how it's looked, but he would still be better off without the ball in his hands as often.

Castle and Fox are playing in swapped roles

He earned his spot as the fourth overall pick in the 2024 draft because of how great he was in an off-ball role under Dan Hurley at UConn, so I'm not sure why Coach Johnson has decided to make him the primary playmaker, but it's taking away from the reps Fox and Wemby need to get ready for the postseason.

When the rubber meets the road in the playoffs, they'll need their veteran point guard, who has the potential to go off for 40-50-60 points, to run the show more often, so it would be nice if he and the Alien had more two-man reps together. They're the most dangerous pieces on the roster, so getting them to play off of each other and crafting the offense around that should be the game plan.

This team will inevitably make it to the postseason at this point. Unless something catastrophic happens (knock on wood), they'll have home-court advantage for at least the first round.

They've even shown that there are more ways to reach a top 10 offensive rating, and it doesn't just have to be Fox and Wemby all the time. That's fine. But do it more often. In the playoffs, when the game slows down and the team needs a bucket, their best players should have the ball in their hands, and those guys need to know what the other is thinking. That's our cheat code.