Spurs must resist mounting pressure to disrupt their rotation

I'm tired of people treating the Spurs' rotation like it's broken. It's tiring. So many people believe Dylan Harper should be starting either next to De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle or instead of the latter player. All their statements prove is that so many are still incapable of comprehending how sacrifice can be the best thing for everyone.

We've only seen a small sample size of the three-guard lineup. We don't have enough data to be demonstrative about Mitch Johnson making adjustments to a 19-7 team that just barely got all of their pieces healthy at the same time. I would argue that not only should they not change their philosophy this season, but they shouldn't touch it for the next few seasons.

The Spurs went from a Big 3 to a Big 4

I don't know about you, but I'm already willing to put Harper in the group with the other three guys. He's proving himself crucial to what the Spurs want to do. He's not the only cog, though. There's one ball, and San Antonio has four guys who can all do massive damage to the opposition when they have it in their hands.

So, Coach Johnson's point of emphasis should be to keep doing what he's been doing, and that's keeping at least one or two of the guards on the floor at all times. Bringing one off the bench makes it that much simpler. There's never a drop-off in paint pressure because all three of them can do it with the best in the league. That's a benefit they lean into, and it's the plan by design.

I'm not sure there has ever been a team in the history of the league with three point/combo guards on the same roster who can all get downhill with similar efficacy. The biggest concern everyone voiced coming into the season was the shooting between them. Harper and Castle are both shooting 30% or less this year, and it hasn't really slowed them down.

On any given night, one of them will knock down some outside shots. Dyllie Dyllie has been on fire the past two games, draining 8-12 from deep, looking like a left-handed Gary Neal out there. Steph has made 50% of his threes over the past four games. Defenses have expected them to be reliably poor shooters, but the Slash Bros are letting them down at every turn.

People keep forgetting that Manu Ginobili—the ultimate selfless competitor—helped build this house. He walked into the Hall of Fame with an immaculate reputation and resume after winning four titles as a perennial sixth man. You won't be able to convince Spurs fans that doing what's best for the team isn't the most important thing for everyone.

Right now, it's Harper off the bench, but I don't care if it's Castle. Someone should always take that role. They get a chance to bring in energy if the starters don't have it, they get to read the game from the sideline and adjust to what they're seeing from the beginning, and a top-level talent gets to play against backups. There is nothing but upside for the team this way.

As the young Slash Bros continue to showcase how special they are, the calls to start them together will only get louder. Hopefully, Coach Johnson resists. It's not necessary. They're doing just fine as is, and it'll only get better as they grow as a unit.