Harrison Barnes subbed in for Victor Wembanyama with 11:07 remaining in the second quarter of the San Antonio Spurs'road win over the Dallas Mavericks. Wembanyama had played just 53 seconds of the period, missing his only field goal attempt.

While Wembanyama was out, the Mavericks embarked on a 12-4 run that prompted Johnson to reinsert his star with 7:12 remaining. Within the next three minutes, Wembanyama logged seven points, one block, one rebound and one assist. He looked motivated.

Wembanyama and Mitch Johnson had different stories of the interaction when asked about the peculiar change to the rotation. The Frenchman blamed a sideline miscommunication.

"I pointed at Mitch intensely," Wembanyama began, "because I was wondering what kind of defense we were in. And I think he understood that (as) I wanted a sub."

Johnson, who spoke first, didn't have a chance to address Wembanyama's explanation. His own account, however, suggested the substitution may have been more deliberate.

"I mean, it was a second night of back-to-back," Johnson said, "so, there was a little bit of mindful minutes ... (but) we've just all got to be better. We've got to make sure we're putting our energy into the right stuff ... we've got to play like our hair's on fire."

Whether Johnson intended to send Wembanyama a message remains unclear — he likely won't be asked about it again. But what isn't disputed is how the 7-foot-4 center responded after returning to the floor. That exemplified Johnson's broader intent on Saturday.

The Spurs earned their first win of the season over the depleted Mavericks, 122-106. Inside the visiting locker room at American Airlines Center, you wouldn't have known.

"If you were in there, you would have thought we lost the game," De'Aaron Fox said.

Finding chemistry takes time. Johnson understands that. But some of San Antonio's early struggles have extended beyond unfamiliar rotations and offensive execution.

"Our floor right now is way too low," Johnson said.

The coach wasn't particularly interested in sugarcoating his assessment, either.

"Effort goes a long way," Johnson explained. "As simple as it sounds and as talented as these guys are, consistent effort with just a little bit of togetherness and execution can really be something to grow and build upon ... we just have not been consistent enough."

Full article is here: https://www.si.com/nba/spurs/onsi/way-too-low-after-3-games-mitch-johnson-wants-san-antonio-spurs-to-play-with-hair-on-fire

Topics discussed: his first NBA bucket, his hometown (St. Louis), how he got his nickname “The Bear” and how the Spurs can beat the Kings tonight! @TarrisReedJr @spurs

Who in the spurs organization can we write to complain about the DAZN bullshit?

Do you think it will do any good if 10k people wrote to them? Do we need a petition?

It’s some bullshit

The San Antonio Spurs know that they haven’t lived up to the expectations to kick off the season, and two role players know how to fix it.

I wanted to see if there are any Spurs fans in Seattle that would like to arrange a watch party at some point this season!

Does anyone know where I can get the Spurs oversized t shirt they have been wearing on the sidelines and warming up in? I saw it on spursfanshop.com a week or so ago for preorder $95 but it looks like that page no longer exists and I can't find it anywhere on the internet. It looks like the long sleeve in this photo but it's mid arm length and very baggy (not the normal T).

Anybody got a yo ho ho link?

From the Spurs announcement about affiliates that will carry the 22 games shown on CW SA in other cities:

Austin: KBVO 14.1
Corpus Christi: KSCC-3 38.3
Harlingen/RGV: KGBT-TV 4.1

In Austin, KBVO is also channel 7 on Spectrum cable, not sure what the others are but I’d expect them to be on all the major carriers.

The Spurs aren’t expected to use their rookies much this season, although Keldon Johnson knows that they’re all ready for a bigger role.

Man these throwbacks are beautiful

Hey guys, I’m going to watch my first NBA game tomorrow in Salt Lake City. Super excited to see the team in person. Does anyone have any tips for a first timer? What time should I get there? I know it’s a long shot, but what’s the best way to try to get my jersey signed?

What are yall favorite local bars to watch spurs games around San Antonio beside the well known spot in La Cantera?

He clearly heard the critiques and responded.

Hello I am a Pelicans fan but one of my all time favorite is Tim Duncan. When Duncan was in his prime, Popovich subbed Tony Parker out because Parker had no shooting. Remember that Pistons vs Spurs in 2005 Finals? Watch it again. Parker was benched for more spacing.

The blueprint is already out that to maximize Wemby you need many shooters and at least a guard that can control tempo and dump lots of lobs inside and great in point of attack. Also, it would be nice if the Spurs can get at least 6-9 PF to absorb interior hits from boxing out, post defense, offensive rebounds, dirty works.

Fox, Harper and Castle are the opposite of that blueprint and Vassell as PF at 6-5 is even worse. It feels like one of the most UN-SPURS like move.

Also, don't give me that BS where you make Wemby's offense like GOBERT. Wemby averaged 25PPG in 29 minutes last season. Stop that.

Some progress, I suppose, but those of us on Spectrum, etc. are still SOL. Yay, capitalism

He knows it's a work in progress, but the top priority remains the same. The Spurs must put Wemby in an advantageous position

The lineup people complain about is the "three" guard lineup, with Vassell and Wemby.

They know it's not working right now. Every Spurs staffer is on record saying they're going to try this out for a while and see how it goes, and figure out the ceiling on that. From before the season started. They're not going to pivot away from something just three games in. Especially if they're interested in it being a potential look against certain matchups later on.

This is straight up out of the popovich school of fucking around until christmas.

Once your team is good enough, the regular season becomes just a televised 82-game training camp, occasionally against good opponents. They're giving it an honest go, exactly at the point in time you want them to experiment. No, they're not missing the playoffs. Moreover, that lineup is a slight net positive, and every single player in there is in the positive +-. The real issue is the bench just fumbles every single lead we manage to get. Just look at Vic's on-off number of +46 or something lol.

People can say that lineup is the reason the bench is so bad - not having one of the three with the bench, but we literally have not played a single lineup withe at least one of the three (Yes, there's 2 minutes of jmac and gillespie, but that is just deep garbage time).

This type of punch in the mouth is also exactly what lights an extra large fire under these dudes' asses.

It's all good. No, they have not forgotten how to play or coach. Coaches just letting pain be a teacher before tightening things up.

It is frustrating when some of the answers are right there, but I think the Spurs have larger goals in mind than keeping me, the viewer, extra comfortable in October.