Grades: San Antonio Spurs at Chicago Bulls – Game #36
Tre Jones and the Spurs came up short (Photo via X)
In a disheartening loss, the San Antonio Spurs fell to the Chicago Bulls by a final score of 114-110. This was a game the Spurs should have won. Instead, the loss dropped San Antonio to 18-18. The win improved the Bulls to 17-19.
The Spurs got off to a strong start and led 29-20 at the end of the first quarter. The good guys kept rolling in the second quarter. To begin the third period, San Antonio’s advantage grew to as large as 19 points.
Sadly, the Spurs took their foot off the gas and allowed the Bulls back into the game. San Antonio began playing a casual brand of basketball that featured ill-advised shots and timid defense. The Bulls kept playing hard and the Spurs hit a dry spell in the fourth quarter. Chicago won the fourth 32-15 as San Antonio completed their collapse.
Stats: Spurs at Bulls
Spurs at Bulls – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
Up until the start of the fourth quarter, Wembanyama was having a great game. He was shooting well, rebounding with purpose, making smart passes and defending the rim exquisitely. It looked like he was going to lead the Spurs to another impressive win. Unfortunately, the fourth quarter changed everything for Wembanyama and the Spurs. He was 0-for-4 in the final stanza and looked tired and unable to generate high-quality shots. Wembanyama’s defense was still good in the fourth but the Spurs desperately needed him to take and make big shots — and that didn’t happen.
Grade: C
Devin Vassell
First of all, I thought Vassell played really good defense. He was active, physical and attentive, as evidenced by his two steals and three blocks. Unfortunately, the other end of the court wasn’t as kind to Vassell. It was, actually, more of the same: bad three-point shooting, questionable shot-selection inside of the arc and a lot of hiccups when San Antonio needed him to score. Vassell passed the ball better than usual but he’s still struggling to play within the team concepts.
Grade: C-
Chris Paul
Paul tried to put the team on his back and carry them to victory. However, he couldn’t quite do it. He still finished with his most well-rounded outing in quite a while. Paul’s scoring was back — and he scored seven of his team’s 15 points in the fourth quarter. The point guard totaled nine assists and only one turnover while once again orchestrating the offense with extreme wisdom. I liked Paul’s defense and he exhibited a ton of leadership. All in all, the Spurs couldn’t have asked for much more out of their 39-year-old floor general.
Grade: A-
Harrison Barnes
Barnes had an inefficient offensive performance but I didn’t mind his shot-selection and he shared the ball well. His defense and rebounding were at adequate levels. Barnes had been hot recently so this was a little bit of a step backwards in that regard.
Grade: C+
Jeremy Sochan
Sochan still doesn’t look 100% after missing a game recently with a back issue. He’s lacking a little bit of mobility, which hurts him on the defensive end and when it comes to rebounding the basketball. He had moments on defense against the Bulls but he’s been better. Offensively, Sochan was mostly fine. He hit a three-pointer, finished at the rim and limited his mistakes. Let’s hope Sochan can soon look healthy once again.
Grade: C+
Keldon Johnson
Johnson finished well in the lane but once again struggled from downtown. He’s now shooting 27.6% from three-point range on the season. Hopefully his shooting comes around because that’ll open even more driving lanes for him. Defensively against the Bulls, there was nothing to write home about. He had a mixed bag of good plays and bad plays.
Grade: B-
Stephon Castle
There were a few stretches where Castle looked like the best playmaker on the court. He was cooking with the ball in his hands — either finding avenues to score or hitting teammates with perfect passes. Castle had some errors here and there but he looked damn solid offensively. Defensively, I also thought the rookie performed well. He was locked in on his duties and made life difficult for Chicago.
Grade: A-
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie finished the game 4-for-9 from three-point range and didn’t shoot a two-pointer. With as well as he’s been shooting threes since moving to the bench, I can’t blame his decision-making. I also thought Champagnie was average on the defensive end of the court.
Grade: B+
Charles Bassey
Bassey got another chance at being the team’s backup center. It wasn’t exactly a pretty performance. Whenever Bassey entered the game, the Bulls attacked him and had success. It’s difficult being Wembanyama’s backup but the defensive dropoff can’t be as big as it was against the Bulls. Bassey did good work on the boards but he needs to do more to win that spot in the rotation.
Grade: C
Tre Jones
Jones hit his only shot from the field and was hustling like a madman to anything resembling a loose ball. I really liked his passing and his defense was mostly fine. Jones needs to start scoring more if he hopes to carve out a larger niche on this team.
Grade: B
Mitch Johnson
I’ve been critical of Johnson not resting Wembanyama enough in recent fourth quarters. Well, he tried resting Wembanyama in the fourth against the Bulls and nothing really changed. I guess it’s up to Wembanyama to figure out how to produce down the stretch. In retrospect, Castle likely should have played more against the Bulls. More Champagnie likely wouldn’t have hurt either.
Grade: B-