Spurs have perfect break-in-case-of-emergency option to crush Wolves

As the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves' second-round series heats up, the Silver and Black have one major card they've yet to play. Despite falling short in Game 4, San Antonio is still very much in the series but may need to get creative to put the Wolves away.

As CBS Sports' Sam Quinn points out, when the going got tough for the Big 3 era Spurs, they often turned to Manu Ginóbili to start big games. He suggests the Silver and Black strongly consider doing the same thing with their ace in the hole, Dylan Harper.

The possibility of the Spurs starting Harper in Game 5 is an intriguing one but begs the question of who would move to the bench. The obvious choice would be De'Aaron Fox, who has had an up-and-down postseason thus far.

Should the Spurs actually start Dylan Harper?

With him listed as questionable for Game 5, it's possible that Harper could replace him in the starting five. Barring that, the other two options would be Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie. Benching each comes with their own risks.

Vassell is the Spurs' best all-around shooter and has been impactful defensively in the playoffs. Moving him to the bench might give the second unit a jolt, though it could hurt the spacing in the starting five.

As for Champagnie, he is a reliable shooter and defender. Better still, he's the team's best rebounder aside from Victor Wembanyama and Luke Kornet. In fact, Champagnie allows for San Antonio to play five out and not get crushed on the glass.

If the Spurs were to start Harper, Vassell would still be the most likely candidate to come off the bench.

Dylan Harper should keep coming off the bench for the time being

Having the option to start Harper is a nice insurance policy in case the Spurs absolutely need to. With the series split 2-2 heading back to San Antonio, now may be the time to make a drastic change.

San Antonio can't afford to go down 3-2. That makes starting Harper a more viable option. It's also worth mentioning that Harper played nearly 30 minutes in Game 1 and Game 3 and 4.

Harper is already playing starter's minutes off the bench. Therefore, it wouldn't be much of a stretch for him to play a few more minutes as a starter.

He has also proven useful with Stephon Castle getting into foul trouble over his last several games. Having three terrific point guards affords San Antonio that luxury and is something that few teams can actually defend against.

Thus, starting Harper alongside De'Aaron Fox --assuming he plays --and Castle is something San Antonio must do to beat the Wolves.

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