Grades: Spurs vs. Pelicans - Feb. 2, 2024

[timvp]

https://www.spurstalk.com/2024-spurs-pelicans-grades-49/

[Slippy]

Scratch my head often too on certain plays by Wemby but going by some posters here .

DV is the villain.

Wemby makes no mistakes

The team has prgressed watching say the last 10 games where they are competitive . Its progress . Their cohesion with Wemby has been the biggest improver. Jones and Vassell know where Wemby is and are finding him the best

Now it upto him to get to know his teammates better snd cut down the carelessness. . Thats part of the learning curve.

[ambchang]

Wemby is being scouted and teams are exploiting his weaknesses. It’s showing but he is able to improve quickly and this is the most impressive thing about him. He learns at an incredible rate and anybody watching him can see how much absolutely hates losing.

The future is bright.

[Atl Spur]

Great productive loss! Great teaching tape

[CGD]

It was a fun game and you can definitely tell there is improvement. Wemby clearly has conditioning issues, and physical games like today make that very clear. Like many of us in our day to day, once we get tired we start getting lazy and unfocused. That showed today for Wemby.

I looking forward to the day when teams will have to stop guarding Wemby with SFs bc Wemby builds out his post bag. Right now they are getting away with it and it clogs stuff up on offense.

But mostly I’ve been really pleased with the teams current trajectory.

[DPG21920]

I was super impressed with Champagnie and Sochan interior defense and toughness. They really stood out to me.

[RC_Drunkford]

Seen some good defense, some nice ball movement. Overall they played a good game and should've won it, they just have these 3-4 minute stretches where they lose focus. Vassell taking that shot instead of throwing a lob to Wemby was idiotic, other than that he played a good game. If Sochan can rebound like this consistently that's a game changer.

[John B]

Wemby was Wemby and continously impress me. He is just going to get better as he gets stronger and his teammates playing better especially finding him.

What I’m watching now are the role players. Vassel, Keldon are given. I’m super impressed with Sochan, Champagnie, and Wesley defensive development. I’ve heard from Pelicans commenting Sochan is such a good defender. I mean he’s been bashed in ST terribly by haters. But Sochan have kept his focus on improving and it shows. Blake likewise. He’s now assessing the game better, not hurried. Champagnie defense (and shooting) will keep him in the rotation. I think Branham responded well after being benched. He needs to work hard to earn his minutes back, but Wesley will not give it without a fight.

Spurs need big bodies to slow down a Zion, Embiid and the likes. Collins is too small. It would’ve been nice to see what Bassey can do.

Good competitive game. I’m not complaining about the loss with Hornets dangerously close at 4th worst record.

[Pauleta14]

To those using the "victim" argument for Vassel, nobody is saying Wemby makes no mistakes

But don't try to act like it's Wemby's fault if he didn't take one shot in the last SEVEN minutes of the game nor was looked for by his teammates in "hero" mode...

The whole basketball world is seing the obvious but some of u remain in denial ...

[Pauleta14]

Grade C while being the best playmaker and defender of the team is kinda funny tbh

[MultiTroll]

To those using the "victim" argument for Vassel, nobody is saying Wemby makes no mistakes

But don't try to act like it's Wemby's fault if he didn't take one shot in the last SEVEN minutes of the game nor was looked for by his teammates in "hero" mode...

The whole basketball world is seing the obvious but some of u remain in denial ...

[LeBowen]

Grade C while being the best playmaker and defender of the team is kinda funny tbh

Grades aren't the same for everyone.
Based on expectations for each player.
Wemby's C is better than Zach's A.
It's not like Zach will get an A ever again, but you get the point.

[SpursBills]

Vassell missed wemby at the end of the game, it sucks, but his vision isn't there yet and it's something he'll have to continue working on. Sochan's been on a tear lately - he keeps flashing potential in different parts of his game. This game his rebounding and defense were stellar, his shooting not as much. Looking for him to put it all together in the next 2-3 years when he'll still be just 23. Wemby's numbers weren't great but he's been adapting well and is getting better by the game. Wesley continues to progress with his PG skills.

So far, so good. Sucks to lose, but these games are way more watchable than early in the season getting blown out by 30 every night with young players seemingly regressing.

[MannyIsGod]

Scratch my head often too on certain plays by Wemby but going by some posters here .

DV is the villain.

Wemby makes no mistakes

The team has prgressed watching say the last 10 games where they are competitive . Its progress . Their cohesion with Wemby has been the biggest improver. Jones and Vassell know where Wemby is and are finding him the best

Now it upto him to get to know his teammates better snd cut down the carelessness. . Thats part of the learning curve.


I mean Wemby makes mistakes but people cut him more slack for a number of valid reasons. He's a rookie, for one, while Devin is in his fourth year and has far worse passing sense as a wing than his 7'4" center. it's also incredibly frustrating that these guys have such a hard time knowing their role. In 98, by the end of the season, David Robinson - a player who had won a league MVP and was clearly the franchise - was able to easily relinquish his role to Duncan because it was obvious AF that he was the better option. No one on this team has done a fucking thing, and yet they act like they're stars at times. This has gotten a lot better over the past month, but last night was a reminder that Devin still apparently hasn't gotten the memo. This attitude isn't always a bad thing, but it is when the people who embody it do so to a detriment of the team. I want Devin thinking he's the best player on the court if he's capable of rising to that and frankly I don't see any reason to believe he is. Devin is more Marcus Smart to Jason Tatum than Klay to Steph and I just wish he'd learn his role better. Like i said, they've made progress on this a lot over the past month but this was just a reminder there's more left to do.

This is why seasons of losing are awful for players. They don't know how to exist on a winning NBA team. I hope the team wins much more the rest of the way (they are certainly a much more competitive team) and don't worry about tanking. They need to compete in games just like this and learn how to win them. There were so many damn mistakes in the last 2 minutes of the game (missing Wemby, Tre shooting WAY too early on the previous possession and giving NOLA too much time, missed free throws to name the big ones) but hopefully it was helpful to them putting it all together.

[MannyIsGod]

I was super impressed with Champagnie and Sochan interior defense and toughness. They really stood out to me.

If Champagnie could actually shoot I'd be really excited about his future but god damn his shooting is just poor considering the quality of the looks he gets. Still really pleased with his defense, but its tempered because if he shoots like he did last night it hurts the team more than his D helps.

[spurs10]

Thanks for the grades. Yes, Vassell played pretty well until the last play. Losses I guess are great for the draft, but losses like this are deflating. Onward to tonight.

[RC_Drunkford]

If Champagnie could actually shoot I'd be really excited about his future but god damn his shooting is just poor considering the quality of the looks he gets. Still really pleased with his defense, but its tempered because if he shoots like he did last night it hurts the team more than his D helps.

he can shoot, but somehow he can't in NBA games. Not sure if it's jitters or just better competition.

[Pauleta14]

Grades aren't the same for everyone.
Based on expectations for each player.
Wemby's C is better than Zach's A.
It's not like Zach will get an A ever again, but you get the point.

im aware of that. I’m not saying he deserves an A

im just saying let’s not be greedy and take for granted some of the stuff he does. He was clutch on defense and ignored on offense in the 4th. What else could he have done more than cutting, screening, calling the ball etc?

it was a B +\- whatever but good performance against tough inside presence

[Kawhi Duncan]

I don't mind Wemby's dumb passes because you can CLEARLY see he does have good basketball IQ...once he gets accustomed to the players and defenses, he will know what passes he can and can't make...plus its not as if he has reached peak confidence, so some passes he does a fraction of a second too late due to being uncertain...

my biggest issue is that he isn't being utilized as he should be...he needs to have an offense set up around him...let him come off mid range screens where he can have multiple attacking options...post him up more and let him get multiple opportunities back to back even if he misses a shot...he isn't gonna learn to go at players and learn how to broaden his offensive capabilities if all we try to do is pass to him for lobs and threes...he isn't Christian Wood...he won't become a better passer and attacker by hardly giving him the ball in certain areas...he won't become better by always trying to create for him...so I get frustrated when our offensive system around Wemby is to let a bunch of low IQ players (except tre jones) try creating FOR him...thats how you end up with plays like last night where he doesn't get the ball the entire 4th quarter (damn near entire 2nd half) including an inexcusable missed pass to win the game...

[Kawhi Duncan]

It was a fun game and you can definitely tell there is improvement. Wemby clearly has conditioning issues, and physical games like today make that very clear. Like many of us in our day to day, once we get tired we start getting lazy and unfocused. That showed today for Wemby.

I looking forward to the day when teams will have to stop guarding Wemby with SFs bc Wemby builds out his post bag. Right now they are getting away with it and it clogs stuff up on offense.

But mostly I’ve been really pleased with the teams current trajectory.
the thing is teams get away with guarding him with SFs not because he can't body them because we have seen it...but because we have HORRIBLE spacing due to none of our players outside of Doug and Vassel being able to shoot...so they immediately help and he hesitates to back down (which he shouldn't...commit to the score and either draw the defense, or score quickly), so it looks like he can't back down...he also needs to learn to attack from the midst faceup where he can eurostep/sweepthrough with his hands....that would be an automatic foul or basket...just imagine prime harden with a smaller defender on him 10 ft away from the basket...minus the flopping and add the ability to easily dunk off vert

[CGD]

Wemby was visibly winded this game. It was physical as hell, and they’re still tinkering with the rotations following the minutes restrictions being lifted. Not sure it wasn’t the right call for his teammates to look elsewhere.

[Pauleta14]

Any player would be winded setting up screens, cutting, constantly moving, being trapped ... and never receiving the damn ball! :lol

[DPG21920]

If Champagnie could actually shoot I'd be really excited about his future but god damn his shooting is just poor considering the quality of the looks he gets. Still really pleased with his defense, but its tempered because if he shoots like he did last night it hurts the team more than his D helps.

Ya - it was more specific to this game. I was there and it was a noticeable level of toughness and timely blocks and holding ground from both of them. Not something Im used to seeing regularly but would be nice.

[gilmor2002]

I mean Wemby makes mistakes but people cut him more slack for a number of valid reasons. He's a rookie, for one, while Devin is in his fourth year and has far worse passing sense as a wing than his 7'4" center. it's also incredibly frustrating that these guys have such a hard time knowing their role. In 98, by the end of the season, David Robinson - a player who had won a league MVP and was clearly the franchise - was able to easily relinquish his role to Duncan because it was obvious AF that he was the better option. No one on this team has done a fucking thing, and yet they act like they're stars at times. This has gotten a lot better over the past month, but last night was a reminder that Devin still apparently hasn't gotten the memo. This attitude isn't always a bad thing, but it is when the people who embody it do so to a detriment of the team. I want Devin thinking he's the best player on the court if he's capable of rising to that and frankly I don't see any reason to believe he is. Devin is more Marcus Smart to Jason Tatum than Klay to Steph and I just wish he'd learn his role better. Like i said, they've made progress on this a lot over the past month but this was just a reminder there's more left to do.

This is why seasons of losing are awful for players. They don't know how to exist on a winning NBA team. I hope the team wins much more the rest of the way (they are certainly a much more competitive team) and don't worry about tanking. They need to compete in games just like this and learn how to win them. There were so many damn mistakes in the last 2 minutes of the game (missing Wemby, Tre shooting WAY too early on the previous possession and giving NOLA too much time, missed free throws to name the big ones) but hopefully it was helpful to them putting it all together.

Not many players are at that class where DRob and TD; I would add Manu also, belong