The new-look San Antonio Spurs will soon take the court and will have a new starting lineup to boot. The Spurs are projected to start De'Aaron Fox, Devin Vassell, Stephon Castle, Harrison Barnes, and Victor Wembanyama.
While that lineup has barely played together, [Bleacher Report has high hopes](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25242479-grading-every-nba-teams-starting-lineup-after-offseason) for that starting five, giving them a B grade when reviewing all 30 NBA starting fives. They praised their defensive potential and placed high expectations on Wembanyama to carry them next season. They have reason to be optimistic about the Spurs' starting lineup.
We saw just five games' worth of Fox and Wembanyama together. When we did, Fox was playing with a broken finger and Wembanyama was playing with a then-undiagnosed deep-vein thrombosis (DVT). They are both healthy now and should have much stronger seasons, with Fox hopefully bouncing back to his peak with the Sacramento Kings.
Meanwhile, Wembanyama was playing at an entirely different level last season before DVT began to affect his stamina. During December of last season, he posted a staggering 28.5 points, 10 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 4.4 blocks per game and shot an impressive 37.7% from three.
If he can play at that level over an entire season, then it would be a huge deal. The Spurs' starting five would be on par with any of the top teams if those two things happened.
One swing skill will determine the success of the Spurs' starting five
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Although the Spurs have a few shooters, the projected starting lineup should have enough with Vassell, Barnes, and Wembayama. Last season, they combined to attempt 19.9 threes per game and shot a combined 38.4% from deep. That was even with Vassell having an awful season.
Barnes will likely regress after drilling 43.3% of his triples, but Vassell and Wembanyama should be better. That should guarantee the starting lineup has enough spacing to work.
That doesn't include Fox and Castle, who aren't shy about taking threes, even though they might only hit around 30% of their attempts next season. But combined with Vassell, Barnes, and Wembanyama, San Antonio should easily attempt around 30 threes per game from just their starting five alone.
The Spurs have all the makings of a playoff team
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As a whole, they may be a bad shooting team. But they should have just enough high-volume, above-average 3-point shooters to offset the ones that aren't. Then there's the defensive end, where a healthy Wembanyama could anchor a dominant five-man unit no matter who he's paired with.
Castle shows the ability to be an impactful defender, while Vassell will hopefully revert back to his previous three-and-D ways. As for Fox and Barnes, neither may be a plus on defense, but they aren't exploitably bad either. Fox could also force enough turnovers to help on that end and get plenty of easy baskets on offense.
Having strong performances from both Fox and Wembanyama, along with enough shooting could be the perfect recipe to make the playoffs next season.
All in all, Bleacher Report's B grade for the Spurs' starting lineup seems justified. In fact, if everything goes right, San Antonio could even exceed expectations next season.