San Antonio Spurs: 3 players under pressure to perform in 2019-20

Will Bryn Forbes be able to recapture last season’s magic?

All summer long, San Antonio Spurs fans have mentally prepared themselves for the benefits — especially defensively — that come with the impending return of Dejounte Murray. They’ve also been subjected to stories about how Lonnie Walker IV and Derrick White have kept up steady acceleration in their developments, heading into the 2019-20 season.

This, of course, is exciting, but basketball games aren’t endless, which means someone’s minutes are about to be taken away, playground recess style.

If he isn’t careful, that someone could end up being Bryn Forbes.

Two points are worth mentioning: Forbes made quite a case for being the most portable player on the Spurs. He was a cog in each of the Spurs four most-frequently used lineups a season ago, and it was his shooting that often safeguarded Aldridge and DeRozan from double teams. But, it should be noted that Forbes’ mini-breakout a season ago was the benefactor of long-term injuries to the aforementioned Murray and Walker.

Last season, Forbes saw an extra 9.0 minutes per game, in comparison to 2017-18. To put into perspective how monumental that jump is, it almost compares to Pascal Siakam, the league’s reigning Most Improved Player of the Year (he saw an 11.2 minutes per game increase from 2017-18 to 2018-19).

The results were generally a mixed bag. The combo guard produced a net rating of -0.3, but he seemed to win over the Spurs faithful with timely shots (especially in the Spurs’ Game Seven loss to Denver).

But now that those reinforcements are back, and the fight for minutes become more competitive, will Forbes have the chance to have an encore?

Everything associated with Forbes insists he’ll have what it takes to elevate beyond the pressure. The underdog aura is nothing new, in 2016, Forbes was undrafted. Three years later, he broke the record for most 3-pointers in a single season by an undrafted Spur.

https://twitter.com/spurs/status/1107038441357934594?s=09

Even in “positionless” basketball, shooting guards aren’t normally supposed to be 6-foot-3. Forbes has been able to turn potential negatives into positives; he ranked in the 96th percentile in defensive rebounding at point guard, and 84th percentile overall.

Forbes himself doesn’t appear to be sweating the potential battle to prove himself again, either. A recent feature story (subscription required) and interview with The Athletic’s Jabari Young highlighted what Forbes was targeting for improvement: adding more muscle, attention to detail on closeouts, and contested shooting.

For Forbes’ supporters, that calmness and proven track record under pressure is reassuring. His ability to ratchet his production when it matters goes back quite a ways. In each of the Spurs two must-win games a season ago, Forbes averaged 15.5 points per game on 63.2 percent shooting from the field, including a 148 offensive rating in that defensive-minded Game 7.

The challenge for playing among the many Spurs guards — ironically enough — will be colossal. The hope of a new contract will also be in play in 2019-20 for Forbes. But, it’s nothing Forbes hasn’t mentally and physically prepared himself for already.