The impact San Antonio Spurs’ Luke Kornet will have this season

The impact San Antonio Spurs’ Luke Kornet will have this season

Let’s look at how Luke Cornet will impact the Spurs this season and let’s see who’s going to be replacing Darren Fox in the starting lineup come opening night. [Music] You are Locked on Spurs, your daily San Antonio Spurs podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. Hey, welcome back to Locked On Spurs right here on the Locked on NBA network. I’m your host, Jeff Garcia, sports writer for Ken 5 San Antonio. Glad to have you back. Hope you’re having a great day. And as always, we thank you’all for making Lockdown Spurs your first and only spot for all things San Antonio Spurs. You can find us on the Ken 5 Plus app, YouTube, iTunes, Spotify. Pick a platform. We are there. You guys are the everydayers. Keep coming here every single day right here at Lockdown Spurs. Why? Cuz the season’s almost around the corner. Can you feel it? It’s almost here. It’s almost here. Training camp’s underway. You got preseason games coming up soon. So stick with us here at Lockdown Spurs. What are we talking about today? Well, we’re going to put into the spotlight Luke Corette. His name popped up a lot among his teammates at media day whether it was Wimby Sohan Steph Castle his name keep on kept on just surfacing. So we’re going to talk about his impact and we know the obvious ones right but what are other areas of Luke Cornet’s impact that we possibly could see this coming season and y’all know the Fox will not be in the starting lineup. uh will just won’t be playing for the start of the regular season due to an injury hamstring. So, we’re going to ask who will be starting in place of Fox until he gets back. Yeah, a lot to talk about here on Locked on Spurs. So, I said, you know what? I got to bring in the big guns. Yeah, this show I you know, we got Luke Cornett possible. Well, temporary replacement for Fox. Who can I turn to? Let’s bring in a friend that well needs should have been here a long time ago, you know, and it feels like it’s way overdue that’s going to bring him on. He is Zach Montana with the Silver Black Coffee Hour. Make sure to follow that show on X. You can see it on your screen there. Let me read it there. It’s It’s kind of abbreviated, but y’all can see it there on your screen. Zack, what’s going on, buddy? What up, Jeff? Good to see you again. Second time this week. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, we met up at media day and this is your second time here on Lo, so we appreciate it. And yeah, you know, it was just the offseason. I was really scrambling for stuff at the last minute. But Zack, when I bring in a UFC MMA fighter to talk Spurs, that should tell you a lot right there that it was well into the offseason. Zack, that’s Hey, we dealt with the same thing on our end at Silver and Black Coffee Hour. It’s it’s, you know, you’re kind of grinding. You’re kind of looking for things to talk about, but it’s uh the easy part is coming. You just got to watch basketball from here on out. Talk it. So, it’s great. Yeah, exactly. Again, you want to follow the show on X. You see down there in your screen, Silver and Black Coffee Hour, him, former colleague of mine at Ken Five, Tom Patrini. Uh basically the whole crew there, they get you going when it comes to all things silver and black as well. So uh Zach will have his moment to brag about that show later on on this episode of Locked on Spurs. Zach, let’s go and dive into it. As I said in the intro, Luke Cornet, his name kept popping up among his teammates that sat at the table during media day. Steph Castle mentioned him. Wimby definitely mentioned him. Uh even spoke with me. Carter Bryant spoke spoke highly about Luke Corette. He seems to be a guy that a lot of his teammates are kind of looking at to be a key piece this upcoming season. Let’s start off with the eye test before we get into some numbers though. Zack, let’s start with you. The eye test, what does it tell you about Cornet’s possible impact this upcoming season? Well, I’ll say the first thing, my eye test was I saw him in person for the first time up close on Monday and the first thought in my head was that is a massive human being. He’s a big fella. Uh, I think he brings a lot to this team. It test wise is just another big man that we didn’t have, the Spurs didn’t have last year. Uh, there were a lot of times in the season where they had issues getting rebounds. They had issues keeping people out of the paint, contesting in the paint without Wimi. Uh, the simple eye test is that you have a really maybe too good of a backup. He could start many teams in this in this league. The deal they got with him for four years, it’s it’s a it’s a Spurs play. He looks like a typical Spurs player. He talks like a typical Spurs player. And it seems like everyone around him realizes that as well. And he loves defense. Clearly, what a lot of things he talked about was the defense, defense, defense. So, my my early eye test is he’s got to bring some defense. He’s a big old dude. Yeah, he definitely is that bruise that the Spurs needed next to uh Wimi and also just overall needed not just for Wimi, but for other players on the floor. Uh again, Steph Castle, well, one thing his eye test told him was, “Hey, that’s an e easy law threat right there.” I he brought that up. You were there with me at the uh practice facility. Uh also too, it relieves some of the duties uh for uh guy like Jeremy Sohan. We saw a lot of times last season where they were just under size. You know, Bassie was hurt, Collins got traded, you had Sohan go out there and play the five sometimes. I think that will help just other players just maybe play at their natural positions, especially for a guy like Sohan doesn’t worry about battling with the bigs anymore now that I mean obviously they got Kelly Omic, but he’ll put on a spotlight later. Nevertheless, I think just the overall ripple effect that Luc is going to have on defense and offense and among his teammates is just going to do wonders for this roster. Your thoughts? Of course. I mean, you bring up guy with championship pedigree, a guy who’s been there, done that. uh obviously wasn’t the starter but played played minutes meaningful minutes and everyone you talk everyone you listen to talk about Luke Cornet even from the Boston Celtics Boston Celtics fans they’re disappointed that he’s not on the team anymore for what he brings. So I think that’s always a good um indicator. I always like going to see what other teams fans are talking about when they lose a player or they gain a player and it’s like oh wow this made this sucks. we’re missing out on a and the fact they’re talking about a backup center that tells you the impact that was definitely seen and I’m excited to see that on the on the court this season for the Spurs. Yeah, absolutely too there. And um I what I also another thing that my eye test tells me is this. I think he’s going to be that type of guy that’s going to be okay with the role that he’s going to be given. Of course, you know, he’ll probably don’t want to play starting alongside with Wimi. I believe he said that recently during practice. But nevertheless, whether it’s a starting job or coming off that bench, he’s going to freely accept whatever he has to do for this team. And I think right now, barring some sort of injury that, you know, hopefully knock away doesn’t happen, but barring something like that, I definitely see him backing up Wimi not starting alongside of him, unless you think differently, Zach. No, of course there’ll be there’ll be minutes for the will they play together and I think they talked about it. Uh Wimi talked about it. Luke’s talked about it. uh you know, we’ve talked about on our podcast how how that could, you know, come to fru come to fruition. But I think uh at the end of the day, if if you have both those guys on the court, then Oh, yeah, for sure. That’ll be And I think he even mentioned it yesterday in a press conference. I forgot who asked him, but he said, “I played with Christophs. I played with other big men before that are athletic. I can I I understand how this operates and I understand how, you know, a big a stretch big, I can play alongside them.” And I think just we heard uh well the pivot EOA was saying that he wants to run this crazy you know crazy lineups with Stephen Adams and Sundon and all these and Kevin Durant. Well the Spurs can counter that. The Spurs can match headtohead and we saw OKC you know put their two big two bigs four and five last year with Chad and Isaiah together on their on on the floor. So, this is the Spurs matching power with power. I think you can’t out You’re not going to out finesse two big men down there. You need you need some weight. You need some guys that are going to, you know, battle. And I think Luke and we haven’t mentioned Kelly. It’s I mean, it’s a different conversation. But there’s a reason why they bring those guys in. It makes sense because the NBA has gone to the spacing, but then there are times where you can find loopholes in other lineups where you can throw two bigs and have a guy who can shoot a three uh on the offensive end, you can make it work. Uh and we know Wim likes to shoot three. So, yeah, that that we do. Yeah. So, overall, just the eye test, you know, we’ll get to some numbers that stand out for us in just a few seconds, but nevertheless, overall seemingly good fit for this team. you know, a little. Would you think the the Spurs paid a little bit too much for him? That was kind of the biggest gripe among the fan base, maybe by some other talking heads to say, h maybe you paid a little bit too much Spurs. But I think this was a good investment. What do you think? Look, paying too much, paying too little, I think you had to spend money in the NBA anyways. Yeah. And I think you got to pay the price to for a backup big, like I said, that could easily be a starter in a lot of teams in this league. you’re gonna have to eat that a little bit, but I think you’re going to benefit in the long run with having him on the roster. So, I think it’s a it’s not even a sure you got to pay an extra million or two a year, but one you’re taking a lot of stress off Wimi, which is honestly my big thing over the last few years is like, let’s make his job easier. That is that’s your long-term investment. Makes life easier. and and just having Wimby when we watched Wimby go to the bench the last few years it’s free and open layups in in the lane and with Luke here I think we solidify that and to go to the stats we want to talk about he holds people to 52% in the lane that’s below the league average that’s ninth in the league overall that’s a good stat that’s a good player to have and he didn’t get a lot of minutes last year or not he didn’t get the starter minutes but I do think there are minutes a lot more minutes to play on the Spurs roster than the Celtics. So, he’s going to benefit and flourish. We’re going to see a lot more of these plays that the Celtics fans were so used to seeing. Absolutely. He is Zack Montana with Silver Black Coffee Hour. When we get back, we’re going to continue our chat about Luke Cornet. Uh now, we’re going to look at some numbers. All right. So, we took care of the eye test, but what do the numbers show us? 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Explore the new Pelaton Cross Training Tread Plus today at onepelon.com. We’re back right here on Lock Sports joined by Zack Montana Silver Black Coffee Hour. Make sure to give them a follow. You see it on your screen right now. Just give the Well, just search on X that handle right there. Hit follow. If not, Zach may have to go to your neighborhood and dunk on you Wimby style. I’ll do it. You don’t want that to happen. I’ll do it. You don’t want that to happen. And what I learned this year is that 75 hoop that I dunked on back in the day is is shorter than Wimi when I was at media days. So, I’ll do it. Hey, hey, I don’t know if you you you caught this and no big deal if you didn’t, but I had Carter Bryant come on for a quick segment on lockdowns first. He actually told us that he did get Wimby on a on a on a on a poster on during run and he got he said he’s going to count it. He’s gonna count it because Wimble’s a little behind him, but he says that that’s a dunk. That’s a dunk for Wimby. Look, I’ve seen Wimby block people way behind before. So, I think if Wimy’s in the paint, we’ll count it as a a poster on Wimby. Yeah, I think some players were saying if he’s on the bench, they’ll take a poster. We’re Well, speaking of big man, we’re talking about Luke Cornette putting him in focus. Why? Because during media day, his name kept on popping up among some of his teammates. uh from Steph Castle saying that’s a legit lob threat right there. So saying about just how big the dude is and they got backup bigs now and Wimby obviously he can’t say enough about Luke Cornette bringing another big alongside him. So and overall Zach refresh my memory I think they all said that he was kind of impressive during practice runs into training camp. So but outside of the eye it test let’s look at some numbers. Zack you started us off in the last segment you threw out a number there. Tell us about that. What are the numbers that you like from Luke that he’s going to bring to San Antonio? Look, 51, he holds opponents of 51.1% at the rim. Uh, and then the overall defensive field or the overall field goal percentage almost is 45.5. So, I mean, he’s going to be a great player. The league average is 62 62% in the rim. That people that’s usually what it is. So, he’s holding below league average. Look, anything below league average, you’re you’re you’re doing your job correctly. I think that’s the way I look at it. Um, and once again, the the minutes that he played on a championship team, Mhm. are going to be, you know, he’s not going to get as much run as he’s going to get on this Spurs team. He is a true vet on this team now. He is the guy. He’s played a lot of minutes in this NBA. He’s gone from New York. He’s played the G-League. He’s gone all over. He’s he’s paid his dues. And I think that’s what makes me most excited for with him on the roster. I mean, stats alone show that, you know, once again, he’s the 95th percentile in block percentage among bigs. It’s a pretty big deal. You know, that’s not deal. We’re we’re only 5% away from being the 99th percentile, which is as best as you could get. So, we’re talking a guy who’s going to solidif we’re talking a lot of defensive stuff, which is what we all heard about for the whole media day. I think I heard it talked about a hundred times. Defense, defense, defense, defense. Well, this is this is the guy. This is why they brought him in. Yeah. And and that is absolutely, you know, legit what you say right there because this guy is a defensive monster. Uh you know, what a way if they if they do, you know, have him just back up Wimby, but even if they start him alongside of Wimi, who’s going to score on this team drive to the paint? I I it’s going to be almost like nearly impossible. You know, I had some discussion about this the Spurs defensive ratings as the season unfolds next season. You know, I’m I don’t know if it’s I don’t think it’s too far on a limb to say that we could possibly see them rank in the top five defenses at some point next season. Think about it. Cornet, Wimby, Castle, Sohan, the list goes on and on and on. So, but Cornett’s presence for sure definitely shores up that defensive side as well. And and you’re you’re absolutely right. you look at my stats kind of follows what you were talking about here. If you compare him to other like centers, so backup bigs in the NBA. So I kind of drew these numbers up here. So we’ll we threw in here Daniel Th Moa Walker Kesler. Okay, as just to name a few, right? Right. So we break this down a little bit. Last season stats, points per game, he was like third on that list, 6.6 per game. But nevertheless, keep in mind he was playing with the Celtics team loaded with talent from Derek White to Jaylen Brown and to Tatum. But 6.6 points per game in 17 minutes gave you about 3.7 rebounds per game and gave you one block per game. But this is my key stat here. 63.9% field goal percent shooting. That was uh nearly the best among all other backup bigs at his position. only tied with Walker Kesler out in Utah. He’s at 64%. So, right there, just by a smidge, Walker Kesler has him there. But 63.9% field goal percentage. Talk about all he want about his being a defensive presence and a beast around that rim and rebounding, etc., etc., but Zack, I think some forget he can actually contribute on the offensive end. Do do the Spurs finally have that stretch big they’ve been looking for? Well, I think we heard a comment made, I forget exactly by who, but they were saying on media day that it’s nice to have a big man that also knows how to move the ball. And that that was also a stat that you don’t really see, but they’ve seen obviously an open run that he is someone that they can trust to move the ball to get other players in great positions to succeed. Um, look, I I think that once again, I don’t think those numbers do it justice. And that’s kind kind of why I mentioned like, hey, he played on a championship team with the, you know, their sal their their cap was way over. They p they were in the second apron. They had all these great players. And that’s of course he’s going to find his role. And I think his role is going to be a lot more here in this San Antonio Spurs offense and defense. And if you’re shooting 62% 63% from the field, sure, I I think there are going to be some, especially with these downhill players that the Spurs are going to be putting out there with Darren Fox, Steph Castle, Dylan Harper, you’re going to have to pick up somebody. Someone’s going to have to pick up the guy flying in the lane and who’s going to be open. It’s always the big man who they have to slide off. And to act like he’s not going to benefit from those things is going to be is is I don’t think you’re you’re being disingenuous. I think this year his stats could easily be over 10 10 points a game, seven, eight rebounds a game, multiple blocks a game. Like we’re talking doubling up on every stat that he had because just opportunities that he get. I’m glad you brought up the facilitating again in comparison to other NBA centers uh you know at the backup position. Again, using Daniel tha and Kesler as just comparison among those guys, he’s the best facilitator at 1.1 assists per game. Uh, so he definitely can find the guys. Now, keep in mind this, he was playing with a Boston team that was loaded, so they probably didn’t need him to facilitate as much. And the Spurs probably don’t need him to facilitate as much with the amount of guards they have on deck. But nevertheless, whether he’s especially if he’s coming off that second unit, Zach, you know, a threat assist big man that the second unit can have, I think that would be uh great for San Antonio. Other uh numbers that stood out for me, Zach, I get your thoughts on this is uh here we go. Let me see. I pull them up here. Is just his overall Well, let me let me rephrase that. The 33% on 1.5 three-point attempts. A lot of people talk about his three-point shooting or lack thereof. I think last season he didn’t take a single three, but I believe in his New York days he was able to knock down that three. We know he could definitely finish at the rim, hit that quick pick and pop, but what about that three shot? I think with San Antonio, they’re going to encourage him to go back to that three-point threat that he was in college, a little bit in New York. Well, you know, on that Boston team, this goes back to what he keeps saying, they didn’t need him to shoot threes. They had a bunch of three-point shooters besides him on the court anyways. So, it’s like, hey, you know, we’ll we’ll let these other guys shoot threes. Just go do your role. I think once again, we keep saying his role is going to be a lot different than San Antonio. I I’m sure he’s excited for it as well. I would be, you know, hey, I get to play Wimi and my role is going to be expanded. I’m going to have a lot more opportunity to score to show my to show myself. You know, unfortunately, he can’t go get another contract because he’s locked in for four years for the Spurs. Fortunately for the Spurs, if he does been if he does, you know, flourish, which we’re expecting, then I think the contract does play out better than what it looks like right now. I think it’s a very simple, hey, you’re going to get 25 minutes a game. That’s nine, eight more minutes than what you got last year. There’s a lot of opportunity for you to get buckets, assist, rebounds, blocks to make an impact. Yeah, absolutely. Now, with that being said, now we did the eye test, we threw out a few numbers out, put it all together. I mean, but this first, they got themselves a player who is efficient, who knows his role, who can be not just a defensive threat. We all know that. But also a potential offensive threat and maybe a bigger one than he was in Boston. And the cultural fit seems to be a perfect match as well. I I mean, Zach, I mean, I think the Spurs did well. Dare I say one of the better offseason acquisitions from San Antonio. Yeah, I think maybe in the league, honestly. I think we’ll we’ll talk about it 40 games in the season and be like, “Wow, Luke Cornets’s averaging averaging 12 a game and making making Wim making making Wimy’s life so much easier. You know, they can play Wimby at the four and have Wimi really space the floor out and put a lot of mismatches on Wimby. If they want to put a small guy on Wimy, then they can run a pick and roll with with him and Luke Cornette. And then it’s like we got to switch to big out on Wimby, then Luke’s got a little guy on him. And there’s just a lot of benefits that comes with if if Wimby and we know Wimi can playmake. That’s never been a thing with me. I Wimy’s passing is one of the better things he does. And he sees over he sees over everything. He can he, you know, with him and Luke being seven two and seven seven. I’m saying women. There you go. At this point, there’s a lot of opportunities for everyone to flourish in these in these uh with this opportunity that you know we we have with Luke on this team. And I don’t think we even talked about the other big you know with Kelly and Kelly is also a ball handler and can play and can play hoops. And I think that’s what I’m excited for. for the season. Absolutely. By the way, I wanted to put this back on screen here, Zach. There, look at that. I hope I hope I I hope he’s clowning on on Kawhi. That that play there. I think he did dunk on a on Kawawaii rec. I think he did. Yeah, he did. Nevertheless. Nevertheless. Uh there you have it. Our quick thoughts about Luke Cornett’s uh potential impact. And I I’m I may say potential. I think he will have a huge impact for this Spurs team. And sure, knock on wood, you don’t want to see life without Wimby. Spurs went through that last season, but it’s just safe to know that if something bad happens to Wimi, then they have an adequate big man. And then not to mention Kelly Olen as well. It’s not something bad. It’s the fact that you can actually give Wimi a break and know that the Spurs team is not going to lose a step on the defensive end. Absolutely. I mean, obviously, he’s not Wimi. Wimy’s one of one, but you don’t there’s a there’s not gonna be a As much as I love Bismag Bybo, shout out to him for shout for stepping in last year and playing his role. He did. This is just an upgrade. I mean, it’s call it what it is. It is. It definitely is. But what are your thoughts about Luke Cornet coming to San Antonio and just in a few weeks we’ll be putting it on that uniform and for a real game for the regular season. What do you anticipate from him? You let Zach know again on XL and Black Coffee Hour. You see it on your screen right there. Follow that handle on Axi. Let me know your thoughts at Jeff G Spurszone as well. Coming up next, uh we’re going to be putting into spotlight Darren Fox and the injury or more specifically, who’s going to be replacing Darren Fox come starting uh well, opening night. All that and more right here on Lockdown Spurs. The NFL season is here and FanDuel is making sure you’re ready for kickoff with the can’t miss offer. 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Again, if you don’t follow, Zach may have to cross you up and break some ankles and just humiliate you. Jeff, you don’t want Zack to do that. Jeff, I’ve retired from basketball. I rolled my ankle really bad like last November, and I literally was like, “This is never going to happen again.” So, I just I just ride my bike and run all day now. That’s all I do. But, I will occasionally put the Kobes on and get out there. Okay. All right. Well, how about this? Don’t let him hit a three in your face. How’s that? There you go. I’ll throw one of these up on you. All right. There you go. All right. We are now talking about Darren Fox and who will be uh replacing him temporarily to start the season. Now, for those of y’all don’t know, and I’m pretty sure y’all do, Darren Fox uh said that he will likely, more likely than not, start the regular season due to a hamstring injury. That being said, first of all, he’s okay. He he even said it himself, Zach, you were there, that he didn’t even know. He goes, I don’t know what a hamstring injury was. This was the first one he ever experienced, but he’s okay. I’m not expecting too long of an absence from Fox. But nevertheless, you got to have somebody start opening night. So, who’s replacing Fox? Zack, who do you got? It’s Steph Castle. I mean, you you just put him back in the lineup. I do want to talk about De’ar though at the at media day. We talked about it on the podcast. as we dropped the podcast on Monday about media day and just how uh animated he was that he was ready to go today that he could play today. Yeah. That he ready to go. I think as a as a fan it’s like okay a guy could you know coast through this but you could tell he’s like antsy to get back on the court that that that eases my mind a little bit. Yeah, absolutely. All right. Yeah, I think Seth Castle is the obvious uh coming off his rookie of the year uh season. You know, he’s only going to project upwards. Uh I mean, think I mean, okay, fine, Fox is not playing. That’s not good, but he’ll be back soon. But this should be a reflection of just how deep the Spurs are at the guard spot. Uh think about it. Oh no, not Steph Castle coming in to start along. You know, not that. What a bummer. Darn it. You know, what can the Spurs do? But I mean, that should just tell you the riches that the Spurs have at that position. Now, Jack and I have talked about this. We’re talking about, okay, who could be a wild card in all this. Jokingly, I said Jordan Mclofflin. That probably ain’t going to happen. And I’m pretty sure it ain’t going to be Jeremy Sohan. I think he he probably just like, I’m having Yeah, he would just like collapse on the on the spot. And Mitch Johnson says, “So, can you start at point guard?” Oh, just boom, just falls down. He wouldn’t be the only one. It’d be all the Spurs fans, too. Yeah. So, the wild card on this, and it’s a little obvious, is Dylan Harper. I know Zack Zach also reminded me too that he is injured right now. Likely will not play preseason games, probably will not participate at training camp full on. He’s there. He’s shooting, but he’s just not taking contact. But the Spurs, as Zach reminded me, they never said that he was completely out to start the season. With that being said, let’s go over that premise. If Harper is cleared come the start of the regular season, what do you think? Let the let the rook get out there and get thrown to the fire very early. And what better way to throw them in the fire than put him in the starting unit come opening night. Well, I mean, if the Spurs plan is to have Steph Castle run the B run run run the, you know, be the six man, then they want to be consistent all season, then of course they’re going to bring him off the bench and not, you know, mess up whatever is going on. You know, Dylan Harper is going to be a stud. I mean, we got to call it what it is. He’s going to be a stud. I loved everything he said about himself or the team and what he’s looking forward. I do want to touch back on, you know, they didn’t say he was out. He He’s said that he could play. He’s trying to get used contact on his thumb. He’s wearing a brace. He’s trying to get all these things figured out. I would much rather this injury happen at the beginning of the season than midway through the season. Uh so, I mean, look, you mentioned it earlier. What a what an issue. Spurs have three primary ball handlers that you can put anyone in the starting lineup and you’re going to be comfortable with. Look back two years, look back one year, look back four years. The Spurs haven’t had that luxury. So, it’s like, okay, that’s the reason why you have these guys on the team. That’s the reason why you have three of these guys. So, you don’t always had to rely on one guy to be there. If he’s not there, then you’re screwed. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. And it’s a part of me wouldn’t mind to see Harper get thrown into the fire, but Mitch Johnson, not it has nothing to do with him being a well legit title interim removed a head coach. Even last season when he was still interim, what did he always say, Zach? We’re not going to rush the process. You’re not going to rush the process. I could definitely see them not rush the process or skip steps. uh and barring something catastrophic outside of that, you know, I definitely will expect Harper if he’s clear to start uh well to play, I should say, right season coming off that bench. But again, yeah, like like Zach’s saying, Riches, this team has riches at the guard position. So, you know, before I let you go, Zach, now that we know if Fox will likely not play come opening night, who’s your starting five on opening night? Uh it’s Steph Dev. You could throw Harrison in there. You can throw Jeremy in there and you got win. I think that’s your I think that’s your five. I do think there’s some variation with it. If if if Jeremy’s calf still isn’t ready, then you throw Julian in there and then you let Harrison run the four. I mean, there’s a lot of variation. If you want to space four out, it just depends on what Mitch wants to do. Once again, the last few years the Spurs haven’t had these, you know, type of This is a good problem to have. It’s like, who’s going to be a starter? We have so many good talented players. Last few years, it’s like we know who the starting five is. We know who the bench is, and we know who’s not playing. I think anybody on this roster can get minutes. Yeah, I’m with you right there. Yeah, you’re starting five uh without Fox. That’s exactly who I got uh come opening night. Uh which is just days away. Everybody just I’m looking at the schedule here and you know they said Darren was going to I heard Don Harris reported November 1st. So that would happen back Sunday, November 2nd against Phoenix uh in in Arizona. I would be surprised. I mean, there is a game that Thursday against Miami. I’ll be there. I hope he’s at I hope he’s back on that game. But look, I they even said I I think Darren is like he was you could tell there’s been some banter back and forth with the with the medical staff and him and and I I just maybe in Sacramento he starts, but in San Antonio we don’t we don’t do that. You’re going to be a thousand% healthy. We’re gonna make sure twice again and then you’re gonna play If if he gets a if he gets dry skin, he’s gonna probably not play that night. Yeah, exactly. That’s how that’s how overly protective the Spurs are. Hey, we’ve been uh kind of teasing it throughout the entire show. Silver and Black Coffee Hour. What is it about? Why should Spurs fans go check it out? Go ahead and brag about that. Silver and Black Coffee Hour, man. We’re in Austin based San Antonio Spurs podcast. Me, Tom Patrin, Aaron Blackerbe, we do our thing. Shout out to those two guys. Those two guys put in a lot of work behind the scenes. We all kind of have our niche and we all kind of do our uh our own thing, but we come together and we make a we make a great podcast once a week during the season on YouTube. You know, we’ll do our thing and we’ll just chat basketball. We kind of just want to be the a good We don’t want to be too much clickbaity. We want to just kind of get good vibes and good, you know, good content for the people and have a good spot to come and talk Spurs basketball. I know it’s a it can be toxic out there and we don’t like toxic. We want to keep it very chill and very very bro Spurs talk. Well, at least y’all get it cut loose sometimes. I I work with Ken’s five, so I got to keep it dizzy here sometimes, but sometimes I want to let loose. I have to bite my tongue. But if you want to go ahead, you can come on the podcast on our end and then we’ll let you we’ll let you send it and get all the things you need to let loose off and you’ll be good to go. Absolutely. Again, the opposite for me on here. I got to I got to button up. Yeah. Yeah. You got to rain it in, right? Yeah. And it’s funny sometimes when I go to other people’s show or talk about Spurs, I’m so stuck in this mentality. I’m always biting my tongue for everything. I can’t say like, “Oh, well, bleep and bleep bleep bleep, you know, I can’t talk like that.” But and they have to remind me like, “Hey, you can relax.” I’m like, “Okay, thank you. You can be yourself over here, man.” Yeah, exactly. He is Zach Montana with Silver and Black Coffee Hour. He talked to you about it and you know how to go follow it. Just go do that right now. Again, you don’t want him hit that three on you. You don’t want him hit that three on your face. Easy these days. That’s unlike again. And and you don’t want to be a viral clip of Zack Montana if you don’t follow the silver black be it would be a good viral clip. I would it’ just be a three in a s. No big deal. That’s all. That’s all. Yeah, that’s all. But you want to avoid that embarrassment. Again, follow Silver and Black Coffee Hour right now on X. Uh everybody else, we thank you’all for making lockdown Spurs your first and only spot for all things San Antonio Spurs. We definitely appreciate it. Keep coming back every single day as the regular season is right around the corner. Got to get through training camp, few preseason games, but it’ll that light at the end of the channel is shining bright. We’re almost there. Uh for tomorrow’s episode, uh TBA, we’re still searching for somebody. Uh we’ll likely have somebody called All Things Silver and Black. Don’t forget to check out Locked on NBA. So on YouTube, just go YouTube, search Locked on NBA, then subscribe to that show right now. So for Zack Montana, I am Jeff Garcia. We’re going to put a lock on this episode of Locked on Spurs. [Music]

Just how impactful will Luke Kornet be for San Antonio?

Host Jeff Garcia and guest Zach Montana of the Silver and Black Coffee Hour break down San Antonio Spurs’ Luke Kornet’s potential game-changing impact, from his rim protection to his offensive efficiency.

The duo analyzes how Kornet’s presence reshapes the Spurs’ lineup, especially alongside Victor Wembanyama. They also tackle De’Aaron Fox’s injury, exploring potential replacements and the ripple effects on San Antonio’s rotation.

Tune in for expert analysis on how Luke Kornet could transform the Spurs’ fortunes this season.

0:00 Intro: Luke Kornet’s impact on Spurs
5:32 Eye test analysis of Kornet’s potential
10:06 Examining Kornet’s defensive statistics
16:42 Kornet’s offensive capabilities and facilitating
22:04 Kornet’s fit and impact on Spurs roster
25:15 De’Aaron Fox’s injury and potential replacements
30:08 Predicting Spurs’ opening night starting lineup

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