The reality the Spurs have to face after fielding a full team for the first time in an NBA Cup loss

Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence. The San Antonio Spurs‘ huge win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in NBA Cup The semi-finals also marked the first game in which Viktor Wemanyama, De’Aaron Fox, Stephen Castle and Dylan Harper everyone could play.

Three nights later, the four of them actually took the court together for the NBA Cup against the New York Knicks. However, unlike Saturday, there would be no triumph for Silver and Black.

“This is our second time all together,” Harper said after the 124-113 setback.

“I think Vic just came back, Steph just came back, and we were all out at one point. So, I mean, just finding how to play with each other at a high level, I think that comes with time,” the Rutgers freshman continued.

To be fair, Spurs’ ‘big four’ have only played so many minutes together. Four. And the cap didn’t come until very late in the fourth quarter, so there was no grace period to feel each other out. To top it off, the Knicks just turned the game around and went up by five points.

“I think it comes with experience,” Harper revealed, before acknowledging the reality of the Spurs. “And we don’t have much.”

Harper is 19 years old. Vembanjama and Castle are both 21 years old, while Fox is the elder statesman of the group at 27 years old.

“I think we’re going to see it a lot different next season when we finish games and things like that,” Harper continued.

Dylan Harper’s perspective

Answering the question in which the reporter stated that the team did not play well when WembyFox, Castle and Harper were on the field together, and the youngest of the four opted for perspective.

“I mean, there’s nothing to overreact about. We’ve won a lot of close games in this Cup or just in the season in general. So being in this side is definitely a good learning experience.”

Harper then moved on to the lesson the young Spurs can learn from winning their group and two knockout rounds to reach the Cup final.

“It just teaches us a lot about ourselves. It’s good that we have a lot of room to grow knowing what we’ve done so far.”

Spurs value the lessons

The Spurs led most of the first half until the fourth quarter against the Knicks. But New York outscored San Antonio 35-19 in the final period.

“Obviously they won, but the biggest thing for us is that we don’t take anything for granted,” Harper revealed.

The outcome came without “core four” seeing court together for a very long time. The son of former NBA great Ron Harper predicts that won’t be the case very often in the future.

“When we all go out there, we all know that we have to go out there and play 110% to win things like this. But, at least for me, I have a lot of hope to come back and play in this event, so I’m very excited to be in this position.”