San Antonio Spurs: 3 takeaways from 2018-19 season opener

2. Point guard watch

If there is a spot to attack San Antonio, it is at the point guard position. With White and Walker both sidelined for the near future, the start at point guard fell to Bryn Forbes against Minnesota. Who is Forbes? He was a pretty good 3-point shooter during his four years in college, hitting 44.9 percent of his 3-pointers.

This is Forbes’ third season with the team and he’s had good success when coming up from the G League to help off the bench, or even start as needed. He was highly thought of with impressive showings in both the 2016 and 2017 NBA Summer Leagues. As the starter against the Timberwolves, he put up 11 points, two assists and four rebounds.

Patty Mills, a longtime Spur, was the backup point guard in the season opener and struggled from the field all night. He took just seven shots (six of which were 3-pointers), making just two of them. Mills and Forbes even played together at certain points, with Mills still running the point and Forbes sliding up to the 2-guard spot.

Forbes has a good chance to stick in his starting spot though, thanks to his defense. According to NBA.com, he forced the players he was guarding into three turnovers and was able to rack up two steals as well. He may not be the point guard Spurs fans were thinking would be starting, but if he continues to play tough in Popovich’s system, he should work out fine until White and Walker are ready to take the court again.