Dylan Harper’s ‘terrible’ admission in San Antonio’s backfield

San Antonio Spurs newcomer Dylan Harper came within two points of tying his NBA career high in a A 123-113 win over the Indiana Pacers. It’s the third time in less than four weeks that the former Rutgers star has scored at least 22 points.

Perhaps more importantly, in one of the rare times this season, Harper shared the court at the same time with Spurs stars De’Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle.

“It’s scary, I think. We all kind of have the same ability to get to the rim easily, but we also have the same ability to get out of it and just make the right play,” Harper said of all three guards sharing the floor. “So I think all three of us are not selfish, and I think that takes us a long way.”

Due to injuries, the trio has been healthy for less than a month this season, which began in late October. Fox was out for the first few weeks with a hamstring problem. Just as he was set to return, Harper suffered a calf strain in early November. Later in the month, Castle missed several games due to injury.

It wasn’t until December 8 that all three were available at the same time. The December 16 NBA Championship Game marked the first time the three guards played at the same time, albeit only for a few minutes in the fourth quarter game that got away from the matchup against the New York Knicks.

Dylan Harper and Spurs await the return of Victor Wembanyama

Since that loss to the Knicks, Fox missed the game. Otherwise, the three-headed monster of Spurs remained intact. Now, it is their anchor that they are without. After suffering a knee hyperextension on New Year’s Eve, Victor Wembanyama is day-to-day and has since missed two of the team’s games.

“Luke plays like one of them,” Harper said of backup center Luke Cornett. “Luke is Luke. I don’t think in the time I’ve been here I’ve seen many people match Luke and Luke not win a match.”

At the same time, Harper acknowledged the shift the guards, and the team as a whole, must make without their generational talent.

“You have to prepare yourself mentally because that’s a big part of it, but just going out there with the mindset of being yourself, and I think that’s where the biggest adjustment has been for me,” Harper said.

Harper’s 22-point outing in Indianapolis helped fill the void left by Wemby’s absence. The performance came two weeks after a career-high 24 points. That Dec. 8 game was the first time he scored 22. For the season, he’s averaging 11.9 points with just under four assists and nearly three and a half rebounds while playing less than 22 minutes per contest.

He did a very good job of helping a a young core that many expected to be improved from last year’s 34-win club. His assimilation with Castle and Fox could determine the just how far the Spurs end up going.