Grades: San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers – Game #31
Doug McDermott led San Antonio’s comeback attempt (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs, playing without Victor Wembanyama, couldn’t get another win in Portland against the Trail Blazers. Following a furious comeback attempt, the Spurs ended up losing by a final score of 134-128.
Both teams struggled in the first quarter. Heading into the second quarter, it was 29-29. In the second, San Antonio’s defense fell apart. Rotations were bad and the effort level was worse.
The bad times didn’t go away to begin the second half. With the Spurs still stumbling, the Blazers expanded their advantage to as much as 26 points.
The good news is that the good guys didn’t quit. Riding a wave of hot shooting, transition scoring and more competitiveness on defense, the Spurs got within single-digits by the beginning of the fourth quarter. Sadly, San Antonio’s offense hit a wall in the middle of the fourth quarter and that stalled the comeback attempt.
All in all, the Spurs had their moments. They had a few really bad defensive stretches but they ended up making it a ballgame, which was no small feat without the services of Wembanyama.
Stats: Spurs at Blazers
Spurs at Blazers – Final Grades
Devin Vassell
Vassell played well. His shot-selection wasn’t the best but he hit enough tough shots to justify his ambitiousness. Vassell also authored some great passes while finishing without a turnover. His biggest issue on offense was that he simply didn’t do enough in the first three quarters, as 12 of his 22 points came in the fourth quarter. Defensively, he was more active than usual — but sometimes gambled too much.
Grade: B+
Jeremy Sochan
Ouch, this was a forgettable performance by Sochan. He was 0-for-3 from the field and had three turnovers in 29 minutes. In half court sets, Sochan could usually be found fumbling, bumbling, stumbling or generally just getting in the way. He had a few quality playmaking moments — but they were few and far between. Defensively and on the boards, I wasn’t impressed. His overall effort level in those departments simply wasn’t high enough.
Grade: D-
Zach Collins
Collins had a distinct advantage in the low post against the Blazers — and he took advantage when he got the touches. He could have had a gigantic affair if his teammates would have passed him the ball more often when he was being guarded by little people. Unfortunately, Collins’ productive outing came to a premature finish when he turned his ankle after a Blazer tumbled into his leg. Let’s hope he avoided any sort of long-term injury.
Grade: A-
Malaki Branham
The good: Branham looked more bouncy and athletic on the offensive end. He’s usually a C athlete so it was notable to see him with extra explosiveness. Branham hustled on the boards and pushed it reasonably well in transition. The bad: Branham was inefficient on offense. He scored 11 points on 12 shots and had as many turnovers as assists. His decision-making was oftentimes a beat slow. Defensively, Branham was much too passive and unsure of himself.
Grade: D
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie looked better on defense but his shooting struggles torpedoed his value. However, he led the starters in free throws attempted in his limited minutes — so there was at least that glimmer of a silver lining.
Grade: C-
Keldon Johnson
Johnson stuffed the stat sheet in his 32 minutes off the bench. He finished with 29 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and only one turnover. Johnson did a good job of mixing up three-point attempts with brawny drives to the rim. He ended up 3-for-8 from three-point land and 6-for-10 on two-pointers while getting to the free throw line 11 times. As the numbers suggest, Johnson also unselfishly found teammates when given the opportunity. When he plays like this, there are few bench players in the NBA who are better.
Grade: A
Tre Jones
Jones was pretty awesome on Friday night. He posted 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists in 27 minutes. Those eight rebounds weren’t a fluke. He was crashing the boards and had multiple put-backs at the rim. Jones’ work in transition was fantastic, both in terms of scoring and passing. In retrospect, the coaches should have played him more minutes.
Grade: A-
Doug McDermott
In one of his better outings of the season, McDermott almost single-handedly gave the Spurs a chance. With San Antonio circling the drain in the third quarter, McDermott hit 5-of-6 three-pointers in only seven minutes of playing time. His movement was great and a couple of those threes had a high degree of difficulty. It ended up not being enough but the game would have been over a lot sooner if it wasn’t for his third quarter marksmanship.
Grade: A
Cedi Osman
Just like he did in the previous game against the Blazers, Osman ran the court with purpose both ways. He was again rewarded for his efforts. He made positive things happen on both ends of the court. That said, his effectiveness in half court situations was minimal.
Grade: B
Dominick Barlow
It was fun to see Barlow get a shot as San Antonio’s backup center. Unfortunately, things didn’t go too well for the young big. Defensively, he tried to protect the rim but the Blazers scored on and over him again and again. He also struggled to rebound or switch out on the perimeter. Offensively, Barlow missed 5-of-6 shots. He exhibited a healthy amount of patience and his shot-selection was fine … he just missed. While this outing was mostly a failure, I thought he showed enough promise to get another crack at it.
Grade: D-
Sandro Mamukelashvili
In his eight minutes, Mamukelashvili passed the ball well and had an athletic finish at the rim. It appears as if his lack of length on defense has him slipping in the depth charts but his overall skill level is diverse enough that he’s still an entertaining watch.
Grade: B
Pop
Pop should have had a quicker hook with the starters. The bench was producing well, while multiple starters were struggling. The playcalling was nothing special. Pop’s intensity was higher than usual, which probably played a part in the Spurs making the second half comeback.
Grade: C