The San Antonio Spurs' bench mob could survive without a single starter

As a thought experiment, imagine the Spurs' entire starting lineup twisted their ankles rounding up chickens on Keldon Johnson's ranch. They'll all be fine, but need a game or two to recover, turning the bench unit into starters.

Mitch Johnson would be deploying Dylan Harper, Carter Bryant, Keldon Johnson, Tobias Harris, and Luke Kornet in hopes of securing a win. Would you be surprised if they pulled it off? Probably not. That's not something many teams around the league can say, but San Antonio can.

That kind of depth is special. It's not just a bunch of bottom-tier role players. The Silver and Black have real talent sitting on their bench, and they'd give other teams fits.

The Spurs have serious talent waiting behind their starters

San Antonio may have some issues on the depth front, but the new starting five would certainly hold their own. The sophomore versions of Harper and Bryant will be more consistent from the perimeter while already bringing elite skills to the party.

The pride of Rutgers is already one of the best finishers in the NBA. He has an array of moves to get into the paint, and if you cut him off, his step-back and change-of-direction abilities are top-tier. Bryant should take another step as a shooter, adding a more consistent "three" to his already suffocating "D."

KJ may be on the outs with many of the fans, but that's more about the skill of the rest of the roster. Johnson may not get a ton of playing time this season, but he'd deserve plenty elsewhere, and he'd even start on some teams. Johnson has already proved that he can score 20 points per game in the NBA as the focal point of his squad. Barely stepping into his prime, he could do so again... easily.

The second unit has enough versatility to actually work

Meanwhile, you have two veterans manning the frontcourt. Tobias Harris could still function as a supporting player because Harper would be the man in this unit. That's the ideal role for Tobi. Let him react to defenses, making secondary decisions off the catch.

Kornet would take over Victor Wembanyama's role as the anchor of the defense. His big body allows him to set great screens, giving the ball-handler space to operate against a mismatch as Kornet's man steps up, trying to contain these actions.

It wouldn't be perfect, and they'd certainly lose a bunch of games if forced to play that way for too long, but could they hold their own for a short time? I'd bet they could.

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