Grades: San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers – Game #57
Victor Wembanyama couldn’t quite lift the Spurs above the Lakers (Photo via Twitter)
While Victor Wembanyama had a game for the ages, the San Antonio Spurs fell to the Los Angeles Lakers by a final score of 123-118. The Spurs now have a record of 11-46, while the Lakers improved to 31-27.
Despite the close final score, the game didn’t feature much drama. Los Angeles took control in the final minutes of the first quarter. The Lakers comfortably led for a long stretch before a Malaki Branham three-pointer brought the Spurs within four points in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, San Antonio then went cold and dropped out of contention. The game tightened up in garbage time but it was too little, too late for the good guys.
All in all, the main takeaway from this game was Wembanyama’s greatness. That was fun to watch.
Stats: Spurs at Lakers
Spurs at Lakers – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
It was another jaw-dropping performance by Wembanyama. It was clear early on that he was on his way to a special night. After his first seven minutes, the rookie had 16 points, six rebounds and four steals. By the time he finished, Wembanyama had a historic 5×5 that consisted of 27 points, ten rebounds, eight assists, five steals and five blocks in 31 minutes. Of all his greatness on this night, a few things stood out. First, his activity on defense was spectacularly disruptive. Second, his physicality and decisiveness on offense led to 11 free throw attempts. Third, his rapid maturation is evident by his improving shot-selection, decision-making, and his ability to read the action and make the right pass. This kid is going to be alright.
Grade: A+
Devin Vassell
After shooting 13-for-18 in his previous game, Vassell came crashing down to earth against the Lakers. While he hit 2-of-5 three-pointers, he was 1-for-10 from inside of the arc and shot only two free throws. As those numbers suggest, the issue was mostly Vassell settling for difficult two-pointers. Yes, he’s a tough-shot maker but he’s at his best when he mixes in powerful drives to the cup. To Vassell’s credit, he added some value on the defensive end.
Grade: C-
Jeremy Sochan
Sochan did a lot of good against L.A. On the offensive side of the court, he was a beast on the boards, handled a fair amount of the playmaking and finished at the rim really well. His aggressiveness was also a plus. The minuses on that end were his three-point shooting (1-for-6) and a few bouts of carelessness. He also failed to get to the line in a team-high 34 minutes. Defensively, his effort was high but his impact wasn’t especially notable. That said, if Sochan would play that hard on defensive consistently, he’d be a major asset on that end.
Grade: B+
Tre Jones
Unfortunately, it seems like teams are beginning to adjust to Jones as a starter. Against the Lakers, he had another very quiet affair. It’s a positive that he took care of the ball well and knocked down both of his three-pointers … but he didn’t do much else. Jones wasn’t finding many advantageous passing angles, didn’t push the pace especially well and couldn’t discover driving lanes on a consistent basis. Defensively, he hurt the Spurs more than he helped.
Grade: C
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie’s statistics don’t jump off the page but this was unquestionably a step in the right direction. Offensively, he was more involved and much less one-dimensional than usual. His passing was a definite plus, he wasn’t bashful about shooting and his movement away from the ball was really helpful. Defensively, Champagnie also performed better than normal. He was more engaged and wasn’t caught flat-footed nearly as much as usual.
Grade: B+
Keldon Johnson
Offensively, Johnson was fine. He attacked with vigor, made the right passes and supplied the Spurs with a palpable amount of oomph. He had three turnovers but that was mostly due to him trying to supercharge the bench unit. Defensively, Johnson was much less impressive. He wasn’t physical enough on the interior or observant enough on the perimeter. The result was a lot of breakdowns that were mostly his fault.
Grade: C+
Malaki Branham
Is Branham turning the corner? He’s 8-for-12 from three-point range in his last three games. Hopefully that’s a sign of things to come. The rest of his evening against the Lakers included a stretch at point guard and a total of 14 field goal attempts in 23 minutes. He wasn’t especially efficient on offense but it looks like a true breakthrough performance could be on the horizon. Defensively, he was better and his mistakes on both ends were minimal.
Grade: B
Zach Collins
Collins was better. He has struggled horrendously from three-point land recently so it was great to see him drain both of his shots from deep. Collins also finished in the paint, even when situations were difficult. Rebounding and rim protection could be a lot better, though. Overall, Collins still doesn’t look right following his ankle injury.
Grade: B-
Cedi Osman
Osman hasn’t been playing many minutes recently but he’s not wasting the time he does get on the court. Four assists in 11 minutes is impressive stuff, especially because he’s not a focal point of the offense when he’s on the court. He’s making things happen by living in transition and never taking his foot off the gas.
Grade: B
Blake Wesley
Wesley hit 2-of-3 shots in ten minutes but wasn’t playing a clean brand of basketball on either end. Defensively, he was caught out of position too often and wasn’t playing smart transition defense. Offensively, his running of the sets left a lot to be desired. If he’s going to keep the backup point guard gig, Wesley is going to have to make sure he takes care of the basics.
Grade: C-
Sandro Mamukelashvili
Mamukelashvili played the last two and a half minutes. The Spurs made a run when he was in but the Lakers were able to shrug it off.
Grade: Inc.
Pop
The playcalling against the Lakers was fine. Wembanyama was involved early and often. Vassell, Johnson and others had their opportunities. Pop’s rotation wasn’t terrible but it was a bit strange. He’s really leaning into Branham right now — we’ll see if that ends up being a worthwhile endeavor. Pop not being able to find workable lineups and wasting a fantastic performance by Wembanyama can’t be ignored, though.
Grade: C-