Grades: San Antonio Spurs vs. Los Angeles Lakers – Game #19
Devin Vassell didn’t have answers against Los Angeles (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs (10-9) saw their four-game winning streak go up in smoke on Thanksgiving Eve. The Los Angeles Lakers (11-7) came to South Texas and delivered a convincing 119-101 loss to the home team.
The Spurs came out of the gates playing well but soon their offense stalled. By the end of the first quarter, San Antonio trailed 32-23. The good guys put together a couple runs, most notably in the third quarter, but the Spurs never could climb out of the hole.
Stats: Spurs vs. Lakers
Spurs vs. Lakers – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
The good: Wembanyama was 7-for-11 from two-point range; his next-level agility was on display on many of those scores. His passing was decent and he made more than his fair share of plays on the defensive end. The bad: Wembanyama’s shot-selection was suspect, particularly from three-point range. Near the basket, he lacked toughness. Zero free throw attempts in 33 minutes accurately paint the picture of his lack of physicality in the paint. Wembanyama was also uncharacteristically clumsy. In many situations, he was off-balance or otherwise not as stable as usual.
Grade: C-
Chris Paul
We haven’t seen it much this season but Paul looked fatigued. Offensively, his playmaking was limited and he actually missed a few passes he typically makes. He also missed all four of his three-point attempts. Defensively, he was a step slow and wasn’t able to really bother any of the Lakers in one-on-one matchups. Overall, though, Paul played with enough poise that he still had value when he was on the court.
Grade: C
Harrison Barnes
The good: Barnes hit 5-of-6 three-pointers on his way to 19 points. His three-point stroke looks both silky smooth and lightning quick right now and he has his percentage on the season all the way up to 46.9%. Defensively, he was average. The bad: Barnes was only 1-for-4 from two-point range and his finishing left a lot to be desired. He was also looser with the ball than usual and didn’t help much on the boards.
Grade: B-
Stephon Castle
Castle actually looked like a rookie on Wednesday night. He was inefficient when it came to scoring the basketball. I didn’t love his decision-making as a whole but, to his credit, he did have a handful of extremely impressive passes. Defensively, the effort was there but he got bulldozed quite a bit in this contest.
Grade: C
Julian Champagnie
Champagnie was the bright spot of the starting lineup. He hit 3-of-7 three-pointers and also showed off his burgeoning ability to drive to the rim off the dribble. Defensively, he was actually pretty darn good individually and made a few savvy rotations. The 23-year-old’s improvement over last season is undeniable.
Grade: A-
Keldon Johnson
Not many positives to report. Johnson was a more willing passing than usual. But, yeah, otherwise, he wasn’t good at all. His defense was poor and he was basically an ineffective battering ram on offense. Johnson really needs to turn things around because this has been the worst season of his career so far.
Grade: D
Devin Vassell
Vassell returned from his latest injury absence and scored 14 points in 21 minutes. He did so on efficient shooting from the field. He was also decent on the defensive end. That said, Vassell wasn’t really helping his teammates out there. There was too much one-on-one ball from him and he compounded that issue by being sloppy. Vassell needs to get sharper and more decisive in all areas of the game.
Grade: C+
Tre Jones
It might not be time to sound the alarm on Jones offensively — but it’s getting close. He’s shooting 28.6% from the field this season. Against the Lakers, it was more of the same. He’s running the sets right and trying on defense — but his inability to score is cramping the court for everyone else. Moreover, his lack of size defensively hurts him against big, physical teams like L.A.
Grade: C
Zach Collins
The good: Collins ran the court with purpose and finished without a turnover or foul in 11 minutes. The bad: The Lakers powered right through him on the defensive end. Collins also didn’t do much on the boards.
Grade: C
Blake Wesley
After a really good outing versus the Jazz, Wesley only got about two minutes of non-garbage time.
Grade: Inc.
Mitch Johnson
Johnson deserves a healthy serving of blame for this loss due to how bad his bench played. With the return of Vassell, he took Wesley and Mamukelashvili out of the rotation — and the result was a lifeless reserve unit. The playcalling also lacked creativity.
Grade: D+