The San Antonio Spurs are tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, but they still have a long way to go if they want to compete for a championship.
The San Antonio Spurs are even with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, sitting just two games away from their first Finals appearance in 12 seasons.
So far in the playoff run, the Spurs have answered almost every question thrown their way. How will Wemby respond to a playoff atmosphere? Pretty well, it turns out. Can the Spurs limit the impact of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander? For the most part, yep! And, of course, can the inexperienced Spurs keep up with the best teams in the NBA for seven games? Absolutely.
All season long, the Spurs boasted one of the better benches in the NBA. Against the Thunder, however, the second unit has fizzled out. That bodes a new, unexpected question the Spurs must answer: how do they remain afloat when the starters sit?
Kornet, Bench Unit Has to Step Up
Plus/minus is not a perfect stat, but it's a pretty good catch-all to measure a player's impact. This season, Luke Kornet has had a plus/minus of +118, which is excellent for a backup center.
In the postseason, that's dropped to an average of -1.4 per game. Against the Thunder, it's fallen to -11.5 in just four games. Wembanyama, meanwhile, is at +50 through four games, not once registering a negative plus/minus.
In seasons past, the Spurs have struggled immensely when Wembanyama was not on the floor. This season, with Kornet, they seem to have finally figured it out. Against the Thunder, however, Kornet has come out flat.
It's not entirely his fault. Kornet has shared the floor with Keldon Johnson, Harrison Barnes, and Carter Bryant, who have all also taken a big step back this series. However, Kornet's shortcomings are indicative of the bigger struggle: how can the Spurs win a series when they lose at least 15 minutes every game?
So far, there isn't an answer aside from "let the starters build a big enough lead so the reserves don't blow it." In Game 3, the Spurs jumped out to a 15-0 lead to kick off the game, and even that wasn't enough.
If the Spurs are going to do the distance, the bench needs to at least be a neutral asset. All season long, they were a positive force, but have since become a black hole. The Thunder, meanwhile, had the best second unit in the league all season long, and haven't lost a step in the postseason.
At this point, the Spurs don't need to pass the Thunder's bench output. They just need to keep up.
