Grades: San Antonio Spurs vs. Utah Jazz – Game #10
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs came up short (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs had a great opportunity to get to .500 when they hosted the Utah Jazz on Saturday, the team with the worst record in the NBA. Sadly, the Spurs blew the opportunity. Instead, San Antonio is now 4-6 after losing to the lowly Jazz by a final score of 111-110.
This contest was incredibly close throughout. At the end, the Spurs simply made too many mistakes. They finished with 20 turnovers and numerous defensive lapses. Late in the fourth quarter, the turnovers and lapses continued and the Jazz were able to hold on.
Stats: Spurs vs. Jazz
Spurs vs. Jazz – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
The good: Considering Wembanyama was shooting 22.6% from three-point land coming into this game, it was great to see him sink 6-of-9 shots from deep. On the boards, he was a monster from the opening minutes. He also finished with seven blocks due to his insane defensive presence around the rim. The bad: Going 2-for-6 from two-point range isn’t going to win many games. Wembanyama is still obviously learning how to be efficient from within the arc. Sloppiness was also an issue against the Jazz. He wasn’t taking care of the ball and his passes were all over the place, which is also why he finished the game without an assist. Overall: Wembanyama put up great numbers but he actual impact on winning wasn’t as great as the stats suggest.
Grade: B
Chris Paul
Paul’s running of the show was sublime. He finished with nine assists while actively sharing playmaking duties with a variety of teammates. He was running the show even when the ball wasn’t in his hands. Defensively, the Spurs tried to hide him but that was actually difficult against Utah. While Paul did a lot of good on offense, he was 0-for-6 from the field. When he’s not a perimeter threat, San Antonio’s spacing gets tight.
Grade: B-
Harrison Barnes
This was mostly a standard Barnes outing. He hit a couple three-pointers, drove the ball to the paint with patience and made a lot of smart decisions. Unfortunately, Barnes turned the ball over three times — and that’s too much for a player who doesn’t get many touches. Defensively, he was more involved than usual today and I thought he actually did a pretty good job on that end.
Grade: B-
Julian Champagnie
The good: Champagnie’s defense was solid. He gave good effort and could usually be counted on to be in the right spots. Champagnie also rebounded well. The bad: Champagnie’s shooting was off. He hit a late three-pointer but it would have been useful if he drained a long-ball in the guts of the game. He seemed to be rushing his perimeter shots today and could have made an extra pass or two. Champagnie is another Spurs player who had too many errors in the form of turnovers and fouls.
Grade: C
Stephon Castle
Castle was pretty darn good for a rookie playing his tenth professional game. The headline news is that he hit his first three three-pointers against the Jazz. Coming into this game, he was 3-for-24 from three-point territory on the season. So, yeah, 3-for-3 after 3-for-24 is quite notable. Sadly, he missed his final four three-point attempts of the game. But beyond his perimeter shooting, Castle was driving to the hoop with gusto and was making smart decisions with the ball. In fact, he might have been San Antonio’s most reliable decision-maker on this night. Defensively, there were a lot of ups and downs. He played good man-to-man defense and read passing lanes right but his rotations were sometimes wrong and he had a bad foul late that helped the Jazz win the game.
Grade: A-
Keldon Johnson
The good: Johnson was much better about finding teammates and passing the ball. That’s the type of unselfish play the Spurs need from him going forward. His rugged driving got him some layups and six free throw attempts. Defensively, Johnson was really active. The bad: Johnson’s three-point shot continues to look off. There’s just not much touch on his jumper right now. The Spurs can’t afford another non-shooter so hopefully he can snap out of this funk. On defense, while his activity level was very good, he lost focus too often and gave up a handful of easy buckets under his watch.
Grade: C+
Devin Vassell
Welcome back. Vassell made his season debut against the Jazz and finished with 21 points in 22 minutes. Vassell looked rusty in his scoreless first stint on the court. However, once he hit the court again, it was on. His offense came roaring back to life and his jumper looked as effortless as ever. While it was great to have him back, Vassell did disrupt the flow — particularly on the defensive end. His team-defense was poor and he made a lot of mistakes when it came to switching on the fly. Offensively, the team did a lot of standing around and watching him operate instead of joining in.
Grade: B
Blake Wesley
Wesley had an inconsistent outing. He had a couple awesome finishes at the rim and a couple slick passes. Unfortunately, he too was contributing to the sloppy play and he sometimes took his foot off the gas. Wesley wasn’t a reason why the Spurs lost this game but he could have aided the cause more than he did during his 19 minutes on the court.
Grade: C+
Zach Collins
Collins passed the ball really well, as evidenced by his four assists and his zero turnovers. He hit another three-pointer and was physical in the paint. Regrettably, Collins had some issues on defense. With the Jazz using a lot of movement in their offensive sets, sometimes San Antonio’s backup center got lost and had tried to catch up a step too late. His rebounding could also have been better than it was.
Grade: C+
Sandro Mamukelashvili
Mamukelashvili protected the rim reasonably well but that was about the extent of his positive contributions on this night. He missed both of his shots and his overall defense left a lot to be desired. His usual high-level hustle on both ends wasn’t as noticeable tonight.
Grade: C-
Mitch Johnson
The good: I like that Johnson gave Castle 35 minutes. The rook had it rolling at times so giving him extra time should aid his growth. Giving his team the ultimate green light from three-point land was a positive. It’s actually weird watching the Spurs play modern NBA basketball — but it’s what the Spurs eventually have to do. The bad: Johnson didn’t seem to do a whole lot to help Wembanyama establish himself on the offensive end. Plus, his usage of Vassell wasn’t the greatest. Everything was disjointed on both ends with Vassell on the court — and some of that comes down to coaching.
Grade: C