Grades: San Antonio Spurs vs. Utah Jazz – Game #29
Victor Wembanyama was back but the Spurs still lost (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs have now lost five straight games after falling to the Utah Jazz by a final score of 130-118. The Spurs are now 2-13 at home and 4-25 overall. The Jazz improved to 13-18 with the win.
San Antonio got off to a brilliant start in the first quarter and led by double-digits midway through the period. As almost always happens with these Spurs, they allowed the Jazz to erase their deficit with relative ease. The score remained close until the end of the third quarter.
The Jazz gained momentum by hitting five three-pointers in the final three minutes of the third. Utah hit a couple more threes early in the fourth to build a double-digit lead of their own. San Antonio’s offense went dry at the worst possible time and soon the Jazz had complete control of the game.
All in all, the Spurs played pretty well for stretches and got some quality performances … but actually winning the game always felt far-fetched. The Spurs weren’t playing without enough cohesiveness to truly compete.
Stats: Spurs vs. Jazz
Spurs vs. Jazz – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
After missing a game due to an ankle injury, Wembanyama was back in the lineup. Honestly, he didn’t look healthy. His movements were uncharacteristically slow and he was visibly laboring for much of the contest. Despite those limitations, Wembanyama was actually quite productive. In only 24 minutes, he had 15 points, seven rebounds, five blocks and four assists. Offensively, Wembanyama missed a lot of jumpers and was sloppy with the ball at times but he found ways to help by passing the ball well and getting in the lane. Defensively, his rotations were slow and he wasn’t doing much on the glass but he protected the rim really well. Let’s hope Wembanyama gets back to 100% sooner rather than later.
Grade: C+
Devin Vassell
The good: Vassell was 5-for-10 from three-point range and he almost single-handedly stopped the Jazz from being able to clog the lane. He also authored a few hard-headed drives to the rim and passed it decently well. Defensively, Vassell was active on the ball and help-wise. The bad: Vassell was only 3-for-8 from two-point range and got to the line only once, which hurt his offensive efficiency. Defensively, while the energy was there, his impact on that end was minimal.
Grade: B-
Jeremy Sochan
Sochan looked better. His shooting stroke has returned; he actually knocked down a pair of really difficult three-pointers. Sochan finished well, had a couple good passes and finished without a turnover. His offense can get a lot better but he’s taking steps in the right direction. Defensively, I didn’t see many positives against the Jazz. He got beat multiple times, navigated screens poorly and wasn’t communicating. Sochan simply isn’t good enough offensively if he’s not bringing it defensively.
Grade: C+
Malaki Branham
After scoring in double figures in eight consecutive games, Branham had a very forgettable night at the office. He missed all three of his shots from the field and finished without a point. To make matters worse, he passed up a couple three-pointers he needed to launch. In the first half, Branham had a couple good passes but his defense was sub par. In the second half, Branham had a careless turnover on San Antonio’s first possession and Pop yanked him immediately. The second year guard didn’t play another meaningful minute in the game.
Grade: D
Julian Champagnie
The Spurs got off to a strong start in large part due to Champagnie’s play. He came out firing and scored ten points in the first quarter. His shooting mechanics look especially natural right now. Champagnie moved well without the ball and didn’t hesitate to impose his will. If he can spread the court, there’s likely a spot in the starting lineup for him going forward. Defensively versus Utah, Champagnie had a lot of issues. He was clearly efforting on that end but the results were negative. He has a lot he needs to learn on that end of the court.
Grade: B
Keldon Johnson
I was really impressed with Johnson. Instead of sulking about losing his starting spot, he fulfilled the sixth man role to perfection. It seems like Johnson realizes that the lineup shift isn’t really a demotion, which is a difficult concept for young players to understand. Against the Jazz, he was aggressive right away and made things happen. Johnson was vicious when attacking the rim and utilized his big body well. His shot-selection was good enough and he limited his mistakes. His defense was nothing to write home about but Johnson’s stubbornness kept the Spurs afloat for stretches at a time.
Grade: A-
Tre Jones
Jones did well. He steadied the ship when the sea wasn’t cooperating and his fellow seamen seemingly didn’t know what to do. He finished without a turnover in 27 minutes and made a handful of fantastic passes. Jones pushed the pace well and did just enough scoring-wise to keep the Jazz honest. His hustling on defense was also a noteworthy attribute on this night.
Grade: B+
Zach Collins
Collins didn’t have a huge impact during his 18 minutes but he had his share of memorable moments. He had a great alleyoop pass to go along without another handful of heady finds. He had some impressive finishes in the paint and played with more physicality than usual. Add in a couple blocks by Collins and it’s fair to say he played his role well.
Grade: B
Cedi Osman
Osman missed both of his shots from the floor and he also missed three of his four shots from the free throw line. His defense was also substandard. Osman was able to retain some value by passing the ball better than normal.
Grade: C–
Doug McDermott
Other than missing a pair of three-pointers, McDermott didn’t dent the scorebook. Considering he played 11 minutes, that’s not an acceptable amount of production — even from a hired gun like McDermott.
Grade: D
Blake Wesley
Hey, it looks like Wesley is slowly but surely working his way into the rotation. I loved a lot of what I saw tonight. Offensively, Wesley is so fast that he can’t help but make things happen when he touches the ball. When he entered the game, the Spurs suddenly looked more dynamic and more dangerous. I liked his decision-making and he passed the ball really well. Defensively, Wesley guarded his man with a palpable amount of pressure. Overall, he’s still raw but Wesley looks like he could become a difference-maker down the road and, in the meantime, he could add some liveliness to the rotation if given a chance.
Grade: A-
Sidy Cissoko
Grab the game ball because Cissoko got his first NBA basket.
Grade: Inc.
Sandro Mamukelashvili
As usual, Mamukelashvili was flying around the court the moment he was unleashed from the pine.
Grade: Inc.
Pop
The defense looked bad again and Pop deserves some of that blame. Otherwise, I liked a lot of what Pop did. Starting Champagnie and moving Johnson to the bench looks like a good move so far. Allowing Wesley to play some rotational minutes paid immediate dividends. Pop also did a good job of making sure Wembanyama got touches early and often.
Grade: B+