Spurs' supposed greatest strength has become potential fatal flaw

It finally appears that the San Antonio Spurs have weathered a recent slump, though not without raising some serious questions. What was so surprising about San Antonio's recent slump is that their supposed depth didn't help much.

Sure, the Spurs can play 11 players routinely, but how many of them are actually playing well? Steph Castle, slump. Dylan Harper, slump. Harrison: "What in the world is going on?" slump. Even De'Aaron Fox has been inconsistent.

Thank you to the basketball gods for the baldheaded bros, Keldon Johnson and Victor Wembanyama. They have helped carry the San Antonio to recent victories against the Milwaukee Bucks and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Still, with Devin Vassell having missed nearly three weeks, the Spurs suddenly look like they aren't nearly as deep.

Vassell's injury has coincided with Barnes' slump, but they have still been forced to play Barnes around 28 minutes per game. That underscores the team's lack of actual depth.

Spurs’ supposed strength has become an alarming weakness

Ideally, Barnes wouldn't be playing nearly as much as he tries to shake out of his shooting slump. Instead, we are only seeing players such as Lindy Waters and Carter Bryant play spot minutes.

Waters can at least space the floor and shoot, but Bryant has been gifted minutes. He's far and away been the worst player on the team, even despite a positive recent outing.

Coach Mitch Johnson is likely well aware of that but is trying to get him a taste of the NBA to accelerate his development. The results probably won't be seen this season, however, and have come at the expense of Jeremy Sochan.

Depth isn't as much of a strength for the Spurs as first thought

Sochan has at least played some recently, but he has largely been out of the rotation. He might be able to earn minutes with Barnes struggling.

On the other hand, San Antonio could simply play Julian Champagnie and Luke Kornet more minutes at the four to offset any decline. They have some frontcourt flexibility at least, but not as much as at first thought with Bismack Biyombo chained to the bench.

He's not nearly as good as he was last season, which was solid if unspectacular. The Spurs can still go to Kelly Olynyk, who has been good in limited minutes, but he, Sochan, and Biyombo haven't been consistent rotation players this season.

Fortunately, San Antonio has been able to rely on Johnson and Champagnie, with both having yet to miss time. They have been a constant that has allowed the Spurs to mix and match when injured.

All told, the Spurs aren't as deep as first thought, with them only having eight reliable rotation players. Fortunately, few playoff teams have that luxury, and if healthy, the Silver and Black could still have a big leg up on the competition.