San Antonio Spurs Experimenting With Platoon System
By Aaron Mah
What started out as an innocent effort to keep his roster of players fresh — coming off of a triple overtime game the night prior — the San Antonio Spurs’ version of the platoon system has become a mainstay substitution strategy for coach Gregg Popovich.
Specifically, coach Pop first experimented with hockey-style line changes during the Spurs’ encounter with the Portland Trail Blazers on Dec. 19.
Citing potential fatigue, as San Antonio was coming off an extended, grueling bout with the Memphis Grizzlies, the Spurs’ intrepid coach decided to try something innovative, once again, to prevent his more experienced players from feeling overly lethargic.
However, the return of the dauntless substitution strategy did not occur again until New Year’s Eve, when, on the second night of a back-to-back in New Orleans, Coach Pop would make wholesale changes in each of the four quarters of regulation time.
Coincidentally, the results of both contests could not be determined during the initial four quarters, as both games went into overtime — where Popovich would scrap his line changing plans and play his ancient big man, Tim Duncan, extensive minutes.
More from Hoops Habit
- The 5 most dominant NBA players who never won a championship
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
Over the next two games would mark the first time in which the Spurs’ discharged their platoon system — recently remade famous by the Kentucky Wildcats — in consecutive games. The results, however, have not been erratic.
Sporting a 2-2 record during the four games, the Spurs were not able to cut Duncan’s minutes, save for the Piston’s game when Timmy sat the majority of the fourth quarter — which defeats the primary purpose of the strategy.
With that being said, the Spurs were able to play their opposition extremely tight during the two back-to-back affairs. In particular, during their tilt against the Pelicans, San Antonio was able to fight off a sluggish start by making an early 1st quarter line change.
Led by the return of Tiago Splitter into the starting lineup and Patty Mills off the bench, the two would shore up the interior and pressure the perimeter, respectively, as the Spurs held the Pelicans to an offensive rating of just 93.6, the lowest of the four platoon games.
When implemented with extended rest, versus the Wizards, San Antonio’s new substitution scheme was able to spearhead a level of ball movement similar to last season’s rendition of the Spurs.
As a result, San Antonio was able to put forth an offensive rating of 121.0, their best offensive performance under the line change system.
Through four games, there has been a noticeable pattern — keep in mind, we’re still working with an extremely small sample size; thus, this is hardly a trend — when the platoon system is enforced. Most notably, the effectiveness of each line has inverse effects against teams with different styles.
When playing teams that start big, but eventually go small as they go to their bench, such as the Detroit Pistons and the Pelicans, both games have unfolded as such:
- Spurs’ starters would jump out to a modest lead during the first six minutes of the first quarter.
- The backups come in, and led by their trio of guards in Mills, Cory Joseph, and Manu Ginobili, they are able to apply ample pressure on defense and the push tempo; consequently, pushing their lead by six-plus points.
- The starters return at around the two minute-mark, relatively fresh. As such, they are able to extend the lead even further against the opposing team’s exhausted first unit.
- However, as the starters remain on the floor for the beginning of the second quarter, the opposition would begin to make their run with a lineup consisting of mainly bench players, which features a stretch/hybrid four, playing alongside a traditional big. With a front-line of Duncan and Splitter, the opposition is able to spread the Spurs’ defense, and push the tempo back on the defending champs.
- As their lead dwindle, Pop would insert his brigade of bench players back in at around the nine minute-mark of the second quarter. Fighting fire with fire, but with a fresher brand of gasoline, the Spurs would push the lead back up at this point.
- At the four minute-mark, the starters would return, usually facing the opposition’s starters or their crunch time / best five-man unit — which in this instance, still consists of a small-ball front-line. With the size of the Spurs’ twin towers negated, the opposition would go on a mini-run at the end of the second, to either, take the lead or cut the deficit.
Conversely, when facing teams who stay big with traditional front lines at all times, such as the Blazers and Wizards, both games took on the following pattern:
- The starters take the lead, coming out of the gates strong, moving the ball with conviction against the opposing starters.
- When the bench comes in during the six minute-mark, their lack of size is exposed, immediately relenting paint points. To compensate, the bench would start to pack the interior, which opens the flood gates for 3-point attempts.
- As the Spurs relinquish the lead, the starters would be subbed back in at the two minute-mark. Even with fresh legs, San Antonio cannot slow the momentum, as the lead swells and the Spurs trail after the first quarter, during both games.
- Facing the opposition’s second unit, or a staggered version, the Spurs’ starters play them even for the first four minutes of the second quarter.
- However, as the back-up platoon enters for San Antonio, their small-ball contingent would once again get outplayed, as the lead gets extended during both bouts.
- The starters would return at the four minute-mark, and spearheaded by their trademark ball movement, would either, cut their deficit entirely or in half.
It should be noted that, with the exception of the Blazers’ and Pelicans’ game — when the platoon system was utilized for all four quarters, coach Pop resorted back to staggered substitution patterns during the second half of the other two contests.
Going forward, it will be very interesting to see how Popovich juggles his lineups to effectively matchup with the opposition’s regular rotation.
With a full complement of players, the Spurs could easily insert Boris Diaw or Matt Bonner into the starting lineup, against teams who go small most often.
Conversely, against teams with size and length, Pop can perhaps play Marco Belinelli and Kyle Anderson on the wings, and pair Diaw alongside Aron Baynes up front, when calling upon his bench unit.
The multitude of options Pop will have at his disposal, with a fully healthy roster, will be a sight for sore eyes. More specifically, San Antonio will have the luxury to throw out three or four different versions of the platoon system, allowing the Spurs to play in a myriad of styles.
Recent struggles, and their rash of injuries, have forced coach Pop to try a multitude of funky lineups and different defensive strategies — most notably, teaming Bonner and Diaw up at the forward positions and devising a 2-3/1-2-2 zone out of ATO (after time-outs) situations.
Of all their experiments, the platoon system has bared the most fruitful results.
As such, with the impending return of Kawhi Leonard, and the amount of depth the Spurs will have as a result, we could be seeing a lot more of their hockey-style line changes, even during the playoffs.