Grades: San Antonio Spurs vs. Phoenix Suns – Game #71
Tre Jones and the Spurs got steamrolled by the Suns (Photo via Twitter)
The San Antonio Spurs got crushed by the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night by a final score of 131-106. The Spurs dropped to 15-56, while the Suns improved to a record of 42-29.
Early on, San Antonio’s offense sputtered. At the end of the first quarter, the good guys trailed 26-17. In the middle two quarters, the Spurs saw their defense meltdown and the Suns put 77 points on the board. Heading into the fourth quarter, Phoenix had a 103-71 lead and the rest of the way was essentially garbage time.
All in all, it was a poor effort by the Spurs. They never really put up a fight on either end. Hopefully it’ll be a different story on Monday when these two teams play each other again.
Stats: Spurs vs. Suns
Spurs vs. Suns – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
Before the wheels fell off, Wembanyama looked like he was on pace to chase a triple-double. Instead, due to the blowout, the rookie got extended rest. Tonight, we can’t blame Wembanyama’s teammates and hold him blameless. Turning the ball over five times in 21 minutes made him part of the problem. Defensively, Wembanyama’s reactions were also slower than usual. For the Spurs to win games, their best player has to play a cleaner, smarter, more intense brand of basketball.
Grade: C-
Devin Vassell
I really didn’t like how Vassell played tonight. The numbers look bad but I thought Vassell was even worse than the statistics suggest. He was forcing shots from the field even when he had wide open teammates. His selfishness on offense was palpable and obviously harmed the team’s chemistry on this night. Defensively, Vassell didn’t do anything of note.
Grade: D-
Jeremy Sochan
The Suns put a big man on Sochan and then ignored him outside of the paint. That strategy paid off because San Antonio’s starting power forward couldn’t hit the broad sign of a barn. If he can’t hit a wide open three-pointer with no one closing out, that’s not a good sign for his NBA future. Sochan made all three of his two-pointers and played some good defense at times … but he was such a liability on offense that nothing else mattered.
Grade: D
Tre Jones
Jones was fine. He was aggressive on offense and put up ten points and five assists in 21 minutes. That’s the type of production that will cause opposing defenses to keep an eye on him. Defensively, Jones was okay. He rarely made a huge difference but he held his own on that end of the court.
Grade: B-
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie is beginning to become a bit of a playmaker on the defensive end. That’s an interesting recent development. Offensively, Champagnie continues to need to do more. He’s not good enough elsewhere to be such a consistent near-zero on offense.
Grade: B-
Keldon Johnson
The good: Johnson was 5-for-6 from two-point range. His burly drives to the hoop also helped him get to the free throw line five times. Johnson gave effort on the boards and limited his turnovers. The bad: Johnson was 0-for-5 from three-point line and his playmaking was nonexistent. His defense wasn’t anything special. Overall: Johnson played well enough for the Spurs to at least compete with the Suns.
Grade: B-
Malaki Branham
Branham was pretty darn terrible once again. The one three-pointer he made was a lucky bank shot. His pass-shot decisions were wonky. His lack of confidence on offense was contagious. Defensively, Branham was poor. It’s not looking good for the second-year guard.
Grade: D
Cedi Osman
Osman was aggressive on offense and tried hard to push the ball in transition — and that’s the best version of Osman. Defensively, he played with energy, although his impact on D was minimal.
Grade: B-
Blake Wesley
It was good to see Wesley back to being his normal electric self. Defensively, he was all over the court and applied constant pressure. Offensively, Wesley nailed a couple of three-pointers, made a handful of plays for his teammates and bent Phoenix’s defense with his speed.
Grade: B+
Zach Collins
Collins lacked strength on defense. He was bad on the defensive boards and didn’t protect the rim well enough. Being a step slow was a death sentence against the Suns. Offensively, he was fine. Collins knocked down both of his three-point attempts and had a couple of slick passes. His touch in the lane could have been better, though.
Grade: C
Dominick Barlow
Barlow got some garbage minutes in the fourth quarter. His only noteworthy play was a tip in.
Grade: Inc.
Devonte’ Graham
Graham wasn’t bashful in garbage time. He looked relatively rust-free.
Grade: Inc.
Sandro Mamukelashvili
Mamukelashvili looked like he was desperate to be noticed during his time in the fourth quarter. To his credit, I thought he did really well. He’s never going to be a defensive dynamo but Mamukelashvili has an interesting enough skillset offensively that I think he deserves some real minutes before the end of the regular season.
Grade: Inc.
Pop
The Spurs failed to compete — and some of the blame should go to the coaches. The sharing of the ball was lacking on offense and the defense was exploited with ease.
Grade: D+