Spurs just made the perfect adjustment to prepare them for brutal playoff run

As the San Antonio Spurs cross the midway point of the 2025-26 season, they are still figuring out the best offensive approach. Thanks to injuries, they have had to play different offensive styles to win games.

To their credit, it's worked well, with the Spurs having the third-best record in the NBA thus far. But now, with almost everyone healthy, they are having to integrate players such as Victor Wembanyama, De'Aaron Fox, and Stephon Castle into a cohesive offense.

Despite the obvious talent level, that hasn't been as easy as many fans might have hoped. Fox in particular has struggled to find his footing while playing with Castle and Wembanyama.

He has often been forced to play off-ball while Castle serves as the defacto point guard. That has helped Castle spread his offensive wings and gain experience playing point guard in the NBA.

Unfortunately, Fox has had to sacrifice production as a result, though San Antonio has recently experimented with putting the ball back in his hands.

The Spurs must put the ball in De'Aaron Fox's hands

Against the Utah Jazz, Fox played primarily on the ball and scored a game-high 31 points while also dishing out 5 assists. Simply put, the Spurs offense runs much better when Fox is the primary ball handler.

We saw that firsthand when San Antonio was forced to play without Castle and Wembanyama. Fox carried the team offensively, having them play at a top 5 offensive level in the absence of two of the three best players.

It makes sense; he is a master at getting into the paint and can finish at the rim, hitting floaters, or knocking down pull-ups. He can also collapse defenses and feed open shooters. Thus, finally putting the ball back in Fox's hands and having him be the primary playmaker makes plenty of sense.

De'Aaron Fox can solve the Spurs' offensive woes

With Fox playing primarily off-ball for half a season, San Antonio has proven that they can play different styles. Even so, it's clear that they are their best with Fox playing point guard, and they should have him play his natural position.

Fox is a better shooter than Castle, which allowed Coach Mitch Johnson to experiment with playing him off-ball. The same can't be said for Castle, who clearly struggles as a shooter but not as much as one might expect.

He is shooting 33% on spot-up threes compared to 28% overall from outside. More interestingly, Castle is shooting 42% on a limited number of right-corner spot-up threes. That suggests that he could find success spending time in the corner knocking down open shots.

Of course, San Antonio will likely still have both Fox and Castle share the playmaking responsibilities. But the ball should primarily be in Fox's hands, especially as the Spurs ramp up to the postseason.

The Spurs must finally unlock the Wembanyama-Fox duo

One major downside to not having Fox play point guard all season has been that he and Wembanyama have yet to develop the pick-and-roll chemistry that we were all hoping to see.

Look, they probably aren't going to be the next John Stockton and Karl Malone. Nevertheless, they should be at least as effective as any star guard-big man pairing in the NBA.

Wembanyama's ability to pick and pop and Fox's speed and skill attacking the paint should make for a potent pairing.

Teams can't trap Fox in the pick and roll, even if a guard or wing is defending Wembanyama. They also would have trouble keeping Fox from getting into the paint, even when switching.

Never mind that it could lead to a guard defending Wembanyama. But the opposing center would either have to contain Fox or leave a player such as Harrison Barnes open to contest at the rim.

We've already seen what Fox playing spread pick and roll can do to San Antonio's offense, but not so much with Wembanyama in place of Luke Kornet.

As good as Castle has been in a playmaking capacity, Fox's fastball is much more devastating, to mix up sports references. Thus, Coach Johnson should give him the keys and watch as he kicks the Spurs' offense into high gear.