Grades: San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers – Game #38

[spursparker9]

https://www.spurstalk.com/grades-spurs-lakers-2025-game-38/

[vagisil]

Thanks LJ

[itzsoweezee]

Mitch has a tendency to panic at small signs of adversity. It was good to see him calm down a bit by not benching Bassey when Charles made some mistakes. It paid off because Bassey started to dominate the boards down the stretch.

It was also nice to see Chris force the Issue by feeding the ball to Barnes on the post and not giving it to Wemby on the perimeter. The vets were giving Wemby a lesson on how to win what was a tight game by putting pressure on the defense and exposing their weaknesses.

[rjv]

i think of all the spurs who were impacted by the longer than expected layoff, it was julian, hopefully, the rust is off and he's back on target by tomorrow night.

[ginobilized]

Nice win, good grades!

When Castle and Barnes are exploiting the defense, we have a better chance at winning, no doubt. Looked like the Spurs reverted back to their weak 1st half/strong 2nd half tendencies.
Staying within reach of the Play-In will be a great challenge, but, that's the hope for this season.

[John B]

A very satisfying win. CP3 going to Barnes in the 4th time and time again was awesome. Barnes has the veteran composure and ability to recognize defense either to abuse his defender or initiate the offense against double-teams. I like to see them doing more of those post, alternatively with Wemby moving forward. Castle was such a bully at 20. That was awesome to watch him target Reaves every freaking time :lol. Looking forward to Vassell getting consistent hitting the rock. The degree of difficulty on those fading 3 pointers will be a challenge to keep consistent though. But I like his tenacity even attacking an ill-advised dunk on AD. I’m not sure that was before or after AD blocked him, but had me thinking of Wesley earlier in his career. Wesley is better now finishing or choosing when to attack.

I see a semblance of decisive plays that they can bottle moving forward. It’s recognizing what works and what not. Wemby making a better decision on shot selection, that or CP3 making a better decision when to pass him the rock. Because knowing Wemby, he’s not seen a bad shot.

Great stuff!

[Mugen]

Not sure if it was intentional but I like that Vic sat the first 4 mins of the 4th. He's usually been on the court to start that QTR only to be gassed by crunch time. Will be interesting to see if that holds going forward tbh.

[spurraider21]

Not sure if it was intentional but I like that Vic sat the first 4 mins of the 4th. He's usually been on the court to start that QTR only to be gassed by crunch time. Will be interesting to see if that holds going forward tbh.
also helps that the team didnt shit the bed during those minutes and put us in a hole

[buttsR4rebounding]

I wonder if Mitch has the stones to start bringing Sochan off the bench. The team just plays much better with Castle in the starting lineup.

[rjv]

Not sure if it was intentional but I like that Vic sat the first 4 mins of the 4th. He's usually been on the court to start that QTR only to be gassed by crunch time. Will be interesting to see if that holds going forward tbh.

i'm more comfortable when Vic comes in a few minutes into the 4th than having him start the 4th and then rest at around the 7:00 mark.

[John B]

Not sure if it was intentional but I like that Vic sat the first 4 mins of the 4th. He's usually been on the court to start that QTR only to be gassed by crunch time. Will be interesting to see if that holds going forward tbh.

It just makes more sense to and bring him back fresh to close. Bassey weathering the storm was great while Wemby took that last break. I would still try to get a Valenciunas if they are thinking of getting in the play-in and what not.

[Mugen]

I wonder if Mitch has the stones to start bringing Sochan off the bench. The team just plays much better with Castle in the starting lineup.

Yeah, I'm leaning pretty heavily towards this move tbh.

I think we have enough evidence to say:
-Castle plays better when he starts
-Castle and Sochan can't coexist for a big stretch of minutes together
-Castle and Tre can't coexist for a big stretch of minutes together
-Until they can find a suitable backup 5, putting Sochan there more might be worth a shot

Replacing Jeremy with Steph helps with all of the above. I also think that long term Castle's ceiling on this team is higher than Sochan's and his development likely needs to be prioritized. I still think Jeremy can be a valuable piece on this team but relegating him to the bench just makes too much sense.

[scott]

This game reminded me of another game against the Lakers on the home court, but from a far more prosperous time: Game 6 of the 2003 WC Semi-Final, all the way down to a very similar 4th quarter box score. In 2003 it was SAS 32, LAL 13. Last night it was SAS 37, LAL 13. The old heads here will know that game well (I remember it like it was yesterday... I was at a place called Sam's Boat in Austin, wearing a unique red Spurs hat).

Also impressed how TimGPT knew to turn back the clock and pump out the grades as fast as timvp used to in those days.

GSG

[spurraider21]

yeah, i think bumping jeremy from the starting 5 is the way to go. he's tried to make himself more victor-compatible by becoming a stronger finisher at the rim and a better rebounder (something sorely needed when Vic needs to contest a shot), but ultimately hes too limiting. its not like they'd never have minutes together, and some matchups may end up dictating he play more.

[BatManu20]

1879068304536727588

[Mugen]

This game reminded me of another game against the Lakers on the home court, but from a far more prosperous time: Game 6 of the 2003 WC Semi-Final, all the way down to a very similar 4th quarter box score. In 2003 it was SAS 32, LAL 13. Last night it was SAS 37, LAL 32. The old heads here will know that game well (I remember it like it was yesterday... I was at a place called Sam's Boat in Austin, wearing a unique red Spurs hat).

Also impressed how TimGPT knew to turn back the clock and pump out the grades as fast as timvp used to in those days.

GSG

Some of my favorite all time Spurs victories have come at Staples.

The '03 closeout, the game in spurraider21's avatar, the McDyess buzzer beater, etc. FTL tbh :lol

[exstatic]

This game was a milestone. Victor had a meh game, and we won by 24 on the road. Huge.

[LeBowen]

This game was a milestone. Victor had a meh game, and we won by 24 on the road. Huge.

23/8/5/3/2 with just 1 turnover is now a meh game for him.

[exstatic]

23/8/5/3/2 with just 1 turnover is now a meh game for him.

If you’d have told me we’d win by 24 at Crypto, I’d have said Wemby must have scored 60, so, yeah, 23/8 is meh in Wemby world.

[RC_Drunkford]

23/8/5/3/2 with just 1 turnover is now a meh game for him.

to be fair that‘s lower than what he usually averages, but I wouldn‘t call it meh

[Pauleta14]

Always enjoy a win vs the Fakers, but not sure if the Spurs were that good of the Lakers sucked.

It looks more like an opportunistic win with Cp identifying mismatches in the 4th

[heyheymymy]

"in the third quarter, a Victor Wembanyama dunk ignited a hellacious run by San Antonio."

yikes

[Manu-of-steel]

I liked Keldon's defense on Lebron in the 4th quarter. He was active, bodying Lebron without fouling. Castle bullied Christie,Reaves, and even Knecht in the post. CP3 was the head of the snake,guiding the Spurs to victory with high-IQ plays

[scott]

I would remiss if I failed to point out that after a rough early go of things, CBass looked a lot better to close things out. He was controlling the boards and he was at least making AD work for his points. I thought Bassey played solid defense on AD most of the game, AD is just really good.

[DPG21920]

This was a fun ass game

[onechance87]

I would remiss if I failed to point out that after a rough early go of things, CBass looked a lot better to close things out. He was controlling the boards and he was at least making AD work for his points. I thought Bassey played solid defense on AD most of the game, AD is just really good.

cbass sucked...luckily we brought wemby back in time before it got out of control.

[Splits]

This game reminded me of another game against the Lakers on the home court, but from a far more prosperous time: Game 6 of the 2003 WC Semi-Final, all the way down to a very similar 4th quarter box score. In 2003 it was SAS 32, LAL 13. Last night it was SAS 37, LAL 13. The old heads here will know that game well (I remember it like it was yesterday... I was at a place called Sam's Boat in Austin, wearing a unique red Spurs hat).

Also impressed how TimGPT knew to turn back the clock and pump out the grades as fast as timvp used to in those days.

GSG

Make San Antonio Great Again

[Dejounte]

When Wemby blocked a three pointer and Castle got the loose ball right before it went out of bounds… chef’s kiss

[PhantomDashCam]

An underrated part of this game was the Michael Cooper retirement ceremony. Halftime was about ten minutes longer and the Lakers looked flat coming out of the break as a possible result.
Apparently it's a bit of trend in LA with these type of retirement tributes (according to socials).

Spurs too would often struggle with these tribute games not to mention what the Lakers and locals are having to deal with outside of basketball.

Good W regardless but I believe it definitely played a part.

[scott]

An underrated part of this game was the Michael Cooper retirement ceremony. Halftime was about ten minutes longer and the Lakers looked flat coming out of the break as a possible result.
Apparently it's a bit of trend in LA with these type of retirement tributes (according to socials).

Spurs too would often struggle with these tribute games not to mention what the Lakers and locals are having to deal with outside of basketball.

Good W regardless but I believe it definitely played a part.

What was funny is that we also started our second half run when the LA Broadcast was doing a sideline interview with Cooper during the 3Q. I made a joke in the game thread that the Spurs should sponsor a podcast with this man, since good things seem to happen every time he goes on his long-winded speeches.

[100%duncan]

It was a great game and a gutsy win but I can't help but feel like a number of things are not sustainable or are in danger of being back to status quo due to rotations in the future:

1. Barnes' was A++ this game. He was really solid at attacking and was finishing smoothly. However, we can't really rely on Barnes to score 17 on good efficiency against good teams always (not that LA is a contender or whatever). That's not a knock on him but rather just the reality of the situation.

2. Castle's dominance. It was really refreshing to see Steph keep attacking whereas in the past weeks, there was hesitance that you can see when he started his dribbles. However, I am worried that when Sochan becomes healthy, Steph will be back to the bench again. This comment is less on Steph but more on the coaches' inability or refusal to see that Steph is just a better starter and plays better as one.

3. Back-up C situation. Damn Bassey was getting killed by AD which isn't a slight to him but my problem was his boneheaded mistakes on offense. He's too unreliable. He did make up for it a bit to start the 4th but I just don't see this being sustainable and him being the back-up C that Wemby deserves.

4. Vassell. Like I commented in another thread, if Vassell played like this on average then everyone here would be loving the hell out of him. This is the perfect blueprint of a Vassell 2nd option game. Unfortunately, we have yet to see him do this consistently. I fully expect him to score 11 pts the next game. Hoping he proves me wrong to either up his trade value or to win some of the fans back (not that we really matter :lol)

Other comments on the brighter side:
1. We won this game with Champ going 0/6. The usual shining aspect of our bench was dogshit this game and yet the boys still weathered the storm.

2. Wemby was average this game on the offensive side and yet still filled up the stat sheet. It's nice not needing Victor to score 28+ for the team to win.

[tbdog]

That might be Keldons best game of his career. Not in terms of numbers but by playing winning, contributing basketball. Defending big wings might be his calling.

[Leetonidas]

yeah, i think bumping jeremy from the starting 5 is the way to go. he's tried to make himself more victor-compatible by becoming a stronger finisher at the rim and a better rebounder (something sorely needed when Vic needs to contest a shot), but ultimately hes too limiting. its not like they'd never have minutes together, and some matchups may end up dictating he play more.

I said before I think he would be best utilized as Victors backup since most teams don't play traditional bigs the entire game anymore anyway. I think he would excel in that role

[cutewizard]

thanks good Sir LJ for these grades

Keep them coming! Mabuhay po!