Grades: San Antonio Spurs at Los Angeles Lakers – Game #38
Devin Vassell and the Spurs downed the Lakers (Photo via X)
The San Antonio Spurs notched one of their most impressive victories of the season on Monday night to improve to 19-19 on the season. Playing in Los Angeles, the Spurs ended up dismantling the Lakers by a final score of 126-102. L.A. is now 20-17 on the season.
The game was neck and neck in the first quarter. In the middle two periods, the Lakers got on a roll. Trailing by ten points with four minutes remaining in the third quarter, a Victor Wembanyama dunk ignited a hellacious run by San Antonio. Over the next 13 minutes, the Spurs went on a 44-14 run to turn that ten-point deficit into a 20-point advantage.
Net-net, this was a great showing by the Spurs. They were able to withstand a few barrages by the Lakers and then, when it mattered most, they sprinted away with it by executing flawlessly in all areas of the sport.
Stats: Spurs at Lakers
Spurs at Lakers – Final Grades
Victor Wembanyama
This was an extremely clean performance by Wembanyama. He made a minimal amount of mistakes, as evidenced by his one turnover and one foul. His shot-selection, particularly inside of the arc, was sublime. Wembanyama wisely mixed attacking the lane and finding teammates. Defensively, he was extremely active — both on the interior and out on the perimeter. All in all, Wembanyama exhibited maturity as he quietly dominated this game.
Grade: A-
Devin Vassell
Hopefully this turns out to be Vassell’s breakthrough. He’s been struggling for a while but was completely dialed in against Los Angeles. He hit 5-of-9 three-pointers, took a lot of smart shots and also shared the rock when it was necessary. Vassell still can clean up his decision-making on the edges but he was much improved. The cherry on top was his activity on the defensive end.
Grade: A-
Chris Paul
Paul’s obsession to win was palpable throughout this game. He desperately wanted the Spurs to get back on track and did everything in his power to make sure that happened. Defensively, the strength and quickness of his hands forced turnovers. Offensively, he shot efficiently, picked his spots well and, mostly importantly, ran the show with precision. Paul knows where the ball needs to go and can still get it there at age 39.
Grade: A-
Harrison Barnes
With the Spurs looking to put the Lakers away, the good guys went to Barnes over and over again. The veteran delivered. He scored ten points in the fourth quarter — twice as many points as any player on the team. From post-ups to drives, he smartly picked apart L.A. Barnes was quiet to begin the game but his finish more than made up for anything before the fourth.
Grade: B+
Stephon Castle
Heck yeah. This was a nice reminder of what Castle can be once he’s acclimated to the NBA. The rookie was special. Sure, his shooting was still nothing to write home about but everything else was awesome. Defensively, he was really good. Both in man-to-man and help-defense situations, he was on his game. Offensively, Castle’s craft was magnificent. His finishing was great. The rookie recognized weak defenders and attacked with wisdom beyond his years. When Castle plays like this, it’s easy to imagine him as a big part of the future of the franchise.
Grade: A
Keldon Johnson
Don’t look now but Johnson may have turned around his season. After a slow start, he has been good recently. Against the Lakers, I loved how he picked his opportunities and made the best of all his chances. He was physical when finishing in the paint, showed unselfishness when finding teammates and nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the third quarter. Perhaps just as importantly, Johnson’s defense was rock solid.
Grade: A-
Julian Champagnie
Yikes, well not everything went smoothly for San Antonio. Champagnie was shooting blanks on Monday night. He was 0-for-6 from three-point land. To his credit, he did have a slick finish off of an offensive rebound and he defended adequately well. That said, Champagnie has to knock down shots to have a positive impact on a basketball game.
Grade: C-
Tre Jones
I like that Jones looked to shoot the ball a little bit more than usual. His playmaking wasn’t as noticeable but he bent the Lakers defense by trying to score the ball. Jones’ hustle on defense was commendable. Overall, Jones’ was pretty good but he still has room to grow in his role.
Grade: C+
Charles Bassey
Better. The Spurs have been struggling to find someone who can provide quality backup center minutes. Tonight, Bassey did well. He had an impressive block, dominated on the glass and scored a couple buckets. His defense wasn’t the best and he made more than his share of mistakes — but this was definitely a step in the right direction. Hopefully Bassey can build on this performance going forward.
Grade: B-
Mitch Johnson
Good stuff from Johnson. He rested Paul more to allow him to close out the game with gas in the tank. Same can be said for Wembanyama, who sat for more than four minutes to begin the fourth quarter. Lacking energy has been a problem for this team in fourth quarters — but that wasn’t the case tonight. I liked Johnson’s playcalling, his gameplan on defense and his rotation. Giving the ball to Castle and letting him work was another good call by the acting head coach.
Grade: A-