How Zach Collins' Move to Bench Highlights San Antonio Spurs' Commitment to Winning

Experimenting has been the name of the game for the young San Antonio Spurs. Whether it's involved Victor Wembanyama, a point guard (or two) or the starting rotation, that's been made clear. Zach Collins' move to the bench is just the latest example.

SAN ANTONIO — Something isn't working for the San Antonio Spurs. 

Between breaking a franchise-worst losing streak at 17 games dating back to early November, having their home crowd chastised by Gregg Popovich and lacking a true top-tier point guard, it makes sense. It was expected.

Of course, nothing can be expected by a population without another being taken by surprise. And in this case, those who solely followed the NBA's coverage of Victor Wembanyama were expecting the Spurs to be in the top four seeds of the Western Conference. 

He is that good, right?

Yes. He is. But he's also not a one-man show. In order for San Antonio to be competitive with other teams that either have multiple All-Stars (just look at the LA Clippers) or a lot more experience, they're going to need more time. 

But rest assured, they're taking necessary steps to win games. They don't want to be losing — Popovich has made that clear — but they are, though that doesn't mean they aren't trying to win. Experimenting with different lineups is one clear-cut sign of that. 

Specifically with regards to Zach Collins, San Antonio's rotational movement is proof that it's willing to make difficult decisions to try and win. And he's okay with that. 

Dec 8, 2023; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Zach Collins (23) brings down a rebound in the first half against the Chicago Bulls at the Frost Bank Center / © Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports

Moving Wembanyama to Center

Collins has started 20 games for the Spurs this season, and they've only played 22.

This offseason, the 6-11 center overcame the narrative surrounding his misfit with a Wembanyama-centered San Antonio roster. He was named the starter prior to the season — a bisection of both his offseason work and last-season performance — and ran with his role alongside Wembanyama, which worked in the short term. 

He produced rebounds and proved to be a proficient scorer as a true big, but still, San Antonio couldn't get over the hump.

Now, its biggest question isn't about Collins, but rather the rookie himself: Would he thrive as a true center? 

The answer to that is yet to be seen, as Wembanyama's had just one game in the role, but according to Popovich, playing him at the five (at Collins' starting expense) is to be the Spurs' game plan moving forward. 

But the former Portland Trail Blazer is ready to embrace his new role.

San Antonio Spurs' Zach Collins shoots the basketball against the Golden State Warriors / © Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

"Having more firepower coming off the bench is always going to help us take some relief off the starters," he said following the Spurs' loss to the Bulls. "Hopefully this — spacing-wise — will work a little better. I thought it was good." 

Despite the loss, San Antonio played a relatively close game against Chicago. Collins joined five other Spurs in double digits by the end of the game, filling the same role he did as a starter, and notched 10 rebounds along with five assists and a steal. 

It was a strong showing from both him and Tre Jones, as the duo led a bench unit that almost entirely had a positive plus-minus on the afternoon. 

Jones tallied eight assists and 18 points of his own to finish second on the team for the game, flexing his facilitating abilities as a bench guard.

Wembanyama led the team in scoring as he continues to find consistency on the boards and from the floor, but still, the Spurs fell short. Every starter finished in the negatives plus-minus-wise and Chicago put the game away in the final minutes without letting up a single point by San Antonio.

But as negative as the game ended up being — it did add another loss to the already-struggling Spurs — there was one main positive. 

San Antonio produced an extremely strong secondary unit.

A Change In Perspective

Zach Collins has been in a bench role before. 

He saw it in Portland, especially once injuries began to set in and stifle his game that was supposed to be an electric addition to a young Trail Blazers squad. He was practically booed out of the building by the end of his tenure there, leaving with nothing but his belongings and a "bust" title — given to him by Portland's faithful.

That's why when he showed up in San Antonio, he fell in love with the city almost instantaneously. He began to put in work and filled in nicely behind Jakob Poeltl. 

That was, until Poeltl was traded at last year's trade deadline. 

Suddenly, Collins was thrust into a starting role, but he shined. He proved himself and earned the highest praise from Popovich entering the offseason, which led to him taking on starting responsibilities entering this season. 

That hadn't changed until he came off the bench for the first time against the Bulls, which led to him providing perspective on the differences between starting and not.

“I always said when you come off the bench, you don’t have the luxury of starting the game, getting into it fast, getting your body going [and] getting your mind into the game," Collins said "You have to stay locked in even though you’re not in the game."

Interestingly enough, his perspective was opposite the stance he took when he initally took on a starting role from the bench. 

"When you come off the bench, you have the benefit of feeling the game out," Collins said back in March. "[You're] watching what's happening, what the other team is doing defensively and figuring out 'When I go in, I saw this, so I can do this.'

"When you start, you have to be ready to go from the jump." 

The contrasting nature of Collins' statements proves that a strong difference does exist between starting and coming off the bench, but they also shed light on the idea that embracing a role starts with a players' mentality. 

For Collins, becoming a starter was a welcome challenge last season, and returning to the bench — for the sake of the team, I'll add — is the exact same. 

That sentiment was echoed by Wembanyama, who's also been at the forefront of the Spurs' experimentation this season.

“Yes and no," he said when asked if the Spurs' different lineups affects their performance. "I mean, of course it’s a change, but we’re professionals. We’re supposed to be able to play in any condition.”

As San Antonio continues its campaign, experimenting will continue to happen. It's unavoidable, especially when dealing with a 7-4 rookie with potential to change the franchise's trajectory. And if moving Collins to the bench is the latest idea of a veteran coach who can safely say he knows what he's doing, that's how it's going to be.

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Collins is okay with that. Wembanyama is okay with that. The team is okay with that.

And if the team is okay with it, then again — that's how it's going to be.

“Let’s just say you have to be patient,” Wembanyama said. “There’s no other choice.”