Grades: San Antonio Spurs at Dallas Mavericks – Game #82
Dejounte Murray returned but the Spurs lost their final game of the regular season (Photo via Twitter)
With nothing left to play for playoff positioning-wise, the San Antonio Spurs lost to the Dallas Mavericks by a final score of 130-120 on Sunday night. The Spurs finish the 2021-22 regular season with a record of 34-48. For the second straight year, San Antonio is the tenth seed in the Western Conference. To advance to the playoffs, the Spurs will need to win two consecutive games in the play-in tournament — beginning with their contest on Wednesday in New Orleans against the Hornets.
Spurs at Mavs: Final Grades
Keldon Johnson
Johnson’s three-point touch was off but the rest of his game was play-in ready. He authored several physical drives to the rim, played active defense and limited his mistakes. Johnson finished the regular season with nine-straight games with 20 or more points.
Grade: A-
Dejounte Murray
In his first game back following an illness that kept him sidelined for five contests, Murray exhibited many obvious signs of rust. His shooting was off, his passing was shaky and his timing wasn’t precise, to put it politely. Despite his struggles in rediscovering his groove, Murray’s effort level was extremely high.
Grade: C+
Devin Vassell
Vassell’s outside jumper looked extra crisp in catch-and-shoot situations. When he put the ball on the ground, things didn’t go as swimmingly. Defensively, he was above average.
Grade: B
Jakob Poeltl
Poeltl was stout on defense — both in the interior and out on the perimeter. He also rebounded the ball well. Offensively, he had some struggles with coordination but it wasn’t a total disaster on that end.
Grade: B
Josh Primo
Primo wasn’t involved much on offense. Despite his lack of touches, he didn’t force the issue when the rock found its way to his hands. Defensively, I liked his toughness and the fact that he never backed down.
Grade: B-
Josh Richardson
Richardson pumped in 18 points off the bench. He took open threes, made the right passes and took on ball-handling duties when it was needed. On defense, he competed and his rotations were timely.
Grade: A-
Tre Jones
Jones had a couple of ugly misses from the perimeter but I love that he was launching jumpers early and often. He needs to hit outside jumpers to flourish in this league. The rest of his evening was strong; he seems to be finding his footing in the NBA — as a reserve, at least.
Grade: B+
Zach Collins
I was impressed with how Collins played. Defensively, he kept his hands in passing lanes, fearlessly went for blocks at the rim and positioned himself with smarts. Offensively, he’s a pick-and-pop threat, a pick-and-roll threat and can make the right pass at the right moment.
Grade: A-
Keita Bates-Diop
Bates-Diop was aggressive on both ends — and that’s usually more than half of the battle with him. As long as he’s not passive, KBD is talented enough (and more than long enough) to be a useful cog on the court.
Grade: B+
Joe Wieskamp
As it stands, Wieskamp is a hired gun with a frozen trigger finger. He must learn to let it fly.
Grade: C