The NBA preseason is over for the San Antonio Spurs, and rookie Tarris Reed Jr. has left them with a simple question: how much of that rebounding can carry over when games count? Reed Jr. averaged 9 rebounds in 17 minutes per game and pulled down 15 offensive boards, a level of work on the glass that made him one of the clearest bright spots in camp.
That matters because rebounding was already an area where the Spurs could use more help. They finished 15th in offensive rebounding last season and fifth in offensive rating, so extra possessions were valuable even on a team that could score. Reed Jr.'s production gives them a chance to improve there if they decide his minutes deserve a larger place in the rotation.
The comparison that hangs over him is DeJuan Blair, and not by accident. Blair spent four seasons with the Spurs in the early 2010s, grabbed 20 boards twice in his rookie season and then started for about two seasons before Tiago Splitter and Boris Diaw replaced him in the rotation. That is the lane Reed Jr. is being measured against now: not just as a big body who can rebound, but as a player whose work might force the Spurs to rethink who gets the floor.
The catch is that Reed Jr. is still technically third in the rotation behind Victor Wembanyama and Luke Kornet. That does not erase what he did in the preseason, but it does explain the barrier in front of him. A player can look like a difference-maker on the glass and still need the rest of the frontcourt to clear the path to real minutes.
For the Spurs, the next step is not about whether Reed Jr. can rebound. It is about whether they will give him enough regular-season time to make those numbers mean something.
