They finally addressed it...

Luke Cornett is a minus 43 through 5 games. That is the worst mark on the Spurs and 31 points worse than the next guy. Last season, he made 64.3% of his shots. This season, he's at 36.4% and he's averaging only 2.4 points per game. But despite this, the Spurs have won three straight and the people inside that building keep saying the same thing about him. It is not just a Luke thing. And the more we look at it, the more I think they've got a point. Because while Luke could definitely improve, the fix doesn't exclusively involve him. It involves the four guys playing next to him and one player who hasn't played a minute yet. But like, look, I'm not going to pretend that the slump isn't real. Luke is the backup center behind Wemby and he's playing only 14.6 minutes a game. And in his last three games, he's 0 for 6 from the field with only one point over his last two games. Go back to Dallas and he was a minus 18 in 14 minutes. That was the night where it sort of felt like everything started to go sideways. But the shooting isn't the only issue. Over these five games, the Spurs are a minus 25 per 100 possessions with Luke Cornett on the floor. The offense scores 98.1 points per 100, and the defense gives up 123.1. But he's also barely touching the ball on offense. His usage rate is only at 10%. He's not out there forcing shots. It's just a guy who isn't quite getting the ball in spots that he usually can use in close, tight to the basket. He's lost his rhythm. Last year, he made almost two of every three shots. Right now, it's closer to one in three. So you'd naturally expect the coach to be worried about this kind of thing. But instead, here is what Mitch Johnson said. Read that again. He didn't say Luke needs to be better. He said the four guys out there with him need to be better. He also said the Luke thing gets blown up because the story is Luke versus Victor. And if it's the same four guys out there with both of them, it's not just a Luke thing. And Victor didn't like the comparison either. He said, quote, I don't think it's an interesting comparison at all. And then he said, when we go out there, we're a system. Like, I know not everyone was saying Luke versus Victor straight up. It's more of a bench story. But still, the franchise player is closing the door on anything to do with Luke versus whoever. And he's turning it into a group problem, a system problem. And that is honestly a very good look for Wemby as a leader. If the Spurs can figure out this backup center thing, they're going to be well on pace for 60 wins this year. I certainly think they'll get there. And on Calci trading $25, that's you a pretty penny if you think so too. This video is brought to you by Calci, where you're trading against real users, not the house like traditional sports books. You're buying yes or no contracts and real life events like the weather, like politics, like your Spurs, baby. And I'm confident that no matter what happens with the backup center, Wemby's going to carry his load on his way to an MVP season. So if you're interested in trying out Calci, use the link in the pinned PIN comment or description down below. Find $25 using code DIGESTNBA and get $55 put into your account instantly. Thank you to Kalshi for sponsoring this video. We've talked about Mitch and Wemby. What about Keldon Johnson? He went even further saying if we don't help Luke out, he can't do it by himself and he can't put the fire out every time. There's one group that exhibits the struggles very clearly, though, and that is Luke with Keldon Johnson, De'Aaron Fox, Carter Bryant, and Julian Champagny. That group has only played about 10 and a half minutes together over four games, but they are a minus 85 net rating. It's a tiny sample. 10.4 minutes is almost nothing, but it is still a lineup that a lot of this story keeps pointing to. So where does this help come from? To paint a bit of a clearer picture, let's zoom out for a second, because while Luke is a bit of a scapegoat right now and a big focus, he's not the only thing that's off with this team. While everything has gotten a whole lot better, we can't forget that Mitch Johnson said after the Dallas win that, quote, our floor right now is way too low. We just all got to be better. And we've got stretches of the game where we're getting our butts kicked. The Spurs lost the opener to OKC, then they lost to Houston, an 0-2 start, and even recently on a back-to-back, they went to overtime against a very depleted Jazz team. They also gave up 30 or more points in the first quarter of each of their first three games, prompting Devin Vassell to say they've got to become the Hunters again. A quote that I've used a lot here recently is something Wemby had to say when he said, I wouldn't call it starting over, but I wouldn't call it starting where we left off either. It's really been in between. And while the numbers definitely paint a clear picture for Luke Cornett, you could also argue that a team that's in between isn't exhibiting solely a Cornett problem. Yes, that's where it shows, but that's also partially because a backup center plays with whatever the rotation can give him, and our bench has been a little bit weak. The starters are fine, Vick's averaging 25 points a game, 11.4 boards, 48% from the field, which is partly why the Spurs can be 3-2 and still feel like something's missing. The top is there, but the middle isn't, and that is where this rotation gets even more interesting. Because the Spurs bench is a bit all over the place right now. Bench points over the first five games, 29, 21, 28, 48, 19. The two losses were the 29 and 21 bench point games. The 48 against Sacramento was mostly Champagny, who had 26 points and made eight threes in the first half alone. But that's less of a bench collective and more just one guy going off. But when something like that happens, you can clearly see how it helps the Spurs. We won 130 to 103 in that game against Sacramento, and we shot 54% from the field and made 46% of our threes with 35 assists. That same night, Keldon had 14, Julian had 26, and Luke was 0 for 2, and the Spurs still won by 27. So Luke isn't the sole switch. But then you switch to Utah, the starters scored 98 of the Spurs' 117 points, with Victor getting 36 of them. One of the other main criticisms of Cornett so far has been the rebounding, at least compared to another guy like Terrace Reed, because the glass is part of it too. Against Utah, the Jazz led the rebounding battle 28-21 midway through the second quarter with 8 offensive rebounds. And rebounding is one of the backup center's main jobs. You could argue their whole job, although Luke is obviously known to be a bit of a rim protector too. He's only grabbing 3.6 boards a game this year. Last season, he was 6.1. Meanwhile, Terrace Reed Jr., the rookie, got seven minutes in Dallas, and Johnson said after that game, quote, being physical, and that, quote, it's contagious when you play the right way, after he pulled down a number of rebounds himself. The Spurs right now are kind of like an amazing car, great engine, but some kind of flat tires. The Spurs still got to three straight wins, but it was largely due to the engine power. But at the same time, the talent is still there. Kellen Johnson is tied for third with nine games and 25 points or more off the bench over the last three seasons, according to StatDefender. But what feels like is missing is someone to share the load next to them. And there's one guy that can do that, but right now he's hurt. Tobias Harris hasn't played a game for the Spurs yet. He signed a two-year, $31 million deal in the summer. He's missed all five games with a left calfstring. On October 29th, Mitch Johnson said he's progressing on the court and that they'll be, quote, unfortunately conservative. As of this recording, there's no return date yet, so I'm not going to give you one, but he did an on-court workout before the Utah game, so he's out there moving around. We're getting close. He brings some solid offense, 13.3 points a game last year on 46.9% shooting from the field, and he hit almost 37% of his threes. And his mid-range shot was 49.6%, which is actually in the 91st percentile of the league last season. This is the kind of thing that the second unit doesn't quite have right now, and is the shot that can give a big man like Cornette a bit more room to work. The Pistons were a plus 10 per 100 possessions with him on the floor last year, which is the 93rd percentile. He's also a veteran, he's been around 15.9 points a game, over more than 1,000 games played in his career, 83.8% from the charity stripe, and 16.5 a game in the playoffs. And when he's the one defending, Opponents only shoot 42.7%. That's pretty solid, too. Now, whether he starts is another question. Some people saying yes, some people saying no. But regardless, he's going to get minutes with the bench. And he is the kind of veteran that this second unit doesn't quite have right now. A guy who's seen every kind of game, who can score, who can defend, who can be relied upon. So instead of having to run the starters for as many minutes as they have, you now have the flexibility to insert a guy like Harris, along with Champagny, along with, again, maybe Fox or Harper on the bench next to a Luke Cornett or a Terrace Freed, and the shots will get easier. And I think that's what's been missing a little bit. So I'm talking a lot about Harris, but his return ultimately does change the whole rotation, whether he starts or not, because somebody is going to have to move. Right now, we're familiar with that starting line of Fox, Castle, Vassell, Harper, and Victor Wembenyama in all five games. My read is that... Harris could very well start after he's worked his way up to full game speed. I don't think it'll happen right away, but I would not be surprised to see one of those three guards, maybe Dylan Harper, head back to the bench. That's my read. I'm not saying it's right, but what do you guys think? Because if we take a look at that minus 85 group again, De'Aaron Fox is in, and he starts. So... Part of this is also how they stagger the minutes. When do the starters rest? And the second unit has really just been kind of whoever's left and not everyone has stepped up this year. Remember, it's not just Luke. A guy like Carter Bryant hasn't really shown his pedigree either and the backup guard options have been rough at times. Victor played 39 minutes in the overtime win at Utah. When he sits, Luke is the center. And a center with no scoring around him doesn't really have much to run. And either way, the second unit gets a player who starts for a living or at least has, and that's the exact fix. That's how a slump can get fixed, because I know he's the scapegoat, but I truly do believe it's possible for him to turn it around. It was never really just about one backup center, right? It was about the four guys next to him as well. At least that's the way the team is framing it, and the Spurs have a way to fix it already. They just need to get him healthy. But let's also mention that we still should free Terrace Reid. And also, Jaden Quaintance is going to be ready to go next year. So this might change the whole equation. The Spurs host Minnesota next. And I don't know whether Harris will play in it. I'm very hopeful. But no matter what, whenever he is ready, this is the big story that I'm going to be watching. If you want a Spurs video every single day, make sure you're also hitting that subscribe button. We're just a bit over 16,000 now, but we're pushing for 17,000. We know you guys can help us hit it. It's completely free, by the way. What do you think? Is the problem really just Cornett or the Spurs right that it's the four guys around him? Should we still see more Terrace Reid minutes? Leave your read down below, pun not intended, and I will catch you in the next one.